‘National resources’? The fragmented citizenship of gas extraction in Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Recent discoveries of oil and natural gas across East Africa have provoked a wave of political optimism fuelled by imaginaries of future development. Tanzania is a paragon of this trend; its government having asserted its potential to become a globally significant natural gas producer within a decade. Yet, this rhetorical promise has been countered by a series of violent confrontations that have taken place between state forces and residents of southern Tanzania. Although these struggles are about various articulations of resource sovereignty, this paper argues that they should be located less in questions of resource control, than in a historical marginalization of the south, or what has been called a ‘hidden agenda’, that privileges urban centres to the north. Drawing on original qualitative data generated over three years in Mtwara and Lindi regions, it shows how gas discoveries reveal the fault lines in the construction of an inclusive ‘Tanzanian’ citizenship. Protesters counter-narrate their sense of citizenship with insurgent strategies ranging from strike action to calls for secession. In short, natural gas discoveries actually extend the fragmentation of an already ‘differentiated citizenship’. Studies of resource conflict and sovereignty, we conclude, should pay more attention to the contested nature of citizenship.

KEYWORDS:

• Tanzania
• Mtwara
• citizenship
• gas
• differentiated citizenship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

John Childs http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3293-9517

Notes

1 Deodatus Balile, “Protest Over Gas Pipeline in Mtwara Turn Violent, Military Deployed.” May 24, 2013. Accessed August 17, 2018. https://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2013/05/24/protests-over-gas-pipeline-in-mtwara-turn-violent-military-deployed/

2 Intereviewed June 2012.

3 Tanzania Daily News, “Tanzania: Mtwara – Dar es Salaam Gas Pipeline Capacity to Increase Progressively.” April 19, 2017. Accessed August 17, 2018. http://allafrica.com/stories/201704190658.html

4 International Monetary Fund Country Report No.14/228, “United Republic of Tanzania.” June 30, 2014. Accessed August 17, 2018. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2014/cr14228.pdf

5 Seppälä, “Introduction,” 7.

6 Holston, Insurgent Citizenship; Ong, Neoliberalism as Exception, 88.

7 Huber, “Theorizing Energy,” 4.

8 Ibid.

9 Must, “Structural Inequality.”

10 Bridge, “Material Worlds,” 1221.

11 This echoes the work of Must, “Structural Inequality.”

12 Recalling Anderson, Imagined Communities.

13 Coronil, The Magical State.

14 Huber, “Energy, Environment.”

15 Marshall, Citizenship.

16 Manby, Struggles for Citizenship.

17 Mamdani, Citizen and Subject.

18 Ibid., 18.

19 Prestholdt, “Politics of the Soil,” 252.

20 Nugent et al., Making Nations, 16.

21 Aminzade, “The Dialectic,” 336.

22 Hunter, “Dutiful Subjects,” 277.

23 For more on Tanzanian citizenship policies, see Aminzade, “The Dialectic.”

24 Amizande, Race, Nation.

25 Aminzade, “From Race.”

26 Amizande, Race, Nation.

27 Barkan, Beyond Capitalism.

28 Holston, Insurgent Citizenship, 5, 7.

29 Marshall-Fratani, “The War.”

30 Dunn, “Sons”; Ndlovu-Gatsheni and Mhlanga, Bondage of Boundaries.

31 Nugent et al., Making Nations.

32 J. M. Kikwete, “Tanzania's Transformation and Vision 2025.” March 31, 2014. Accessed August 21, 2018. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/home/chatham/public_html/sites/default/files/20140331TanzaniaKikwete.pdf

33 Adam, “Tanzania,” 418.

34 Seppälä and Koda, The Making.

35 Kamat, “The Ocean,” 296.

36 Kaiser, “Structural Adjustment.”

37 Wembah-Rashid, “Is Culture,” 47.

38 Green, “Participatory Development,” 76.

39 Rizzo, “What was Left.”

40 Ahearne, “Development and Progress.”

41 Schneider, “High on Modernity.”

42 Bernstein, “Notes.”

43 Lal, “Militants, Mothers.”

44 Maier, Into the House.

45 Adekanye, “Structural Adjustment.”

46 Southern African News Features, “Four Countries, One People, One Development Corridor: Mtwara.” January 2005. Accessed August 21, 2018. http://www.sardc.net/en/southern-african-news-features/four-countries-one-people-one-development-corridor-mtwara

47 The Citizen, “Kikwete: Beware of Foreign Land Grabbers.” August 22, 2009. Accessed August 21, 2018. http://allafrica.com/stories/200908220005.html

48 Mesaki and Mwankusye, “The Saga.”

49 Muhammad Issa, Fisherman, Mtwara Town, January 2014.

50 Hamisi Ali, Port worker, Interview, Mtwara Town, January 2014.

51 Nicholas Bariyo, “Pipeline Riots Leave 7 Dead in Tanzania.” WSJ, January 28, 2013. Accessed August 22, 2018. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324329204578269942829075484

52 Baraka Juma, farmer and protestor, Interview, Mikindani, June 2014.

53 Selemani Kidume, Protestor, Interview, Mikindani, July 2014.

54 Must, “Structural Inequality.”

55 BBC News, “Tanzania Mtwara Gas Riots: Pregnant Woman Killed.” May 24, 2013. Accessed August 22, 2018. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22652809

56 Hadija Ahmadi, cashew nut farmer and protestor, Interview, Mtwara Town, July 2014.

57 Yusufu Masoudi, opposition party representative, Interview, Mikindani, January 2014.

58 Nick Branson, “Tanzania: Division and Derision in the United Republic.” November 17, 2015. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.africaresearchinstitute.org/newsite/blog/tanzania-division-and-derision-in-the-united-republic/

59 Habiba Selemani, market vendor, Interview, Mtwara Town, July 2012.

60 Mamdani, Citizen and Subject.

61 Valdivia, “Governing Relations.”

62 Aridi Basha, market trader, Interview, Kilwa Kivinji, August 2012.

63 Ally Adeni, restaurant chef and protestor, Interview, Mtwara Town, July 2014.

64 Bashir Lisingi, Logistics, Interview, Mtwara port, January 2014.

65 Sylivester Domasa, “Tanzania: Draft Pact for Mega Gas Export Project ‘Ready for Review’.” Tanzania Daily News, April 19, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://allafrica.com/stories/201704190192.html

66 Juma Ali, shop owner and protestor, Focus Group, Mikindani, August 2014.

67 Musa Fikiri, offshore rig worker, Interview, Mtwara, January 2014.

68 United Republic of Tanzania, “Draft One – Local Content Policy of Tanzania.” April 2014. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.agcc.co.uk/uploaded_files/07.05.2014local-content-policy-of-tanzania-for-oil-gas-industry.pdf

69 Anonymous Interview, Dar es Salaam, July 2014.

70 Basana Saidi, bar owner, Mtwara town, June 2012.

71 The Citizen, “Shock of Mtwara Torture.” July 20, 2013. Accessed August 23, 2018. http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/-/1840392/1920690/-/efte9qz/-/index.html

72 Issa Abdulahi, university student, and Kritopha Mwangi, cashew nut farmer, Focus Group, Mikindani, August 2014.

73 Ross, “What have.”

74 Fatuma Mohammedi, cashew nut farmer and protestor, Interview, Mtwara Town, July 2014.

75 Ali Muhammadi, teacher, Interview, Mikindani, June 2014.

76 Mika Masoudi, Striking Port worker, Interview, Mtwara Town, January 2014.

77 Ahearne, “Development and Progress.”

78 Emel et al., “Extracting Sovereignty.”

79 The Citizen, “Why Mtwara Violence is Beyond the Gas Pipeline.” May 23, 2013. Accessed August 23, 2018. http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Why-Mtwara--violence-is-beyond-gas-pipeline/-/1840392/1861170/-/ctbqen/-/index.html

80 Ibid.

81 Bridge and Le Billon, 13.

82 Ibid., 61.

83 See: Bridge, “Resource Geographies 1”; Bridge, “Resource Geographies II”.

84 Hamza Yusufu, Port worker and protestor, Interview, Mtwara Town, August 2014.

85 Dastan Kweka, “Fraught with Land Acquisition Risks: LNG Project.” Udadisi, May 2, 2018. Accessed August 23, 2018. http://udadisi.blogspot.com/2018/05/fraught-with-land-acquisition-risks-lng.html

86 Obi and Rustad, Oil and Insurgency.

87 Prices have fallen from 6USD/mmBTU (February 2014) to 2.83USD/mmBTU (July 2018), hitting a low of 2.07USD/mmBTU (May 2016). See, US Energy Information Administration, “Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price.” July 2018. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm