PART II. POWER POLITICS AND EIA IN PRACTICE

Introduction

In Part One we saw that environmental impact assessment as an environmental management tool is a recent phenomenon in Tanzania's environmental management regime. Likewise, the development of the legal regime in respect of EIA is still in its early stages and evolving. It may, therefore, be too early to make a fair judgment of the laws given the relatively short experience that we, as a country, have had on this subject. It is, however, important to draw some tentative lessons and conclusions on the general direction that EIA regime seems to be taking in practice and what that portends to the future of environmental management in Tanzania.

One of the most prominent findings that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Against Corruption (the Warioba Commission) documented was the apparent convergence of interests between powerful politicians and foreign corporate interests keen on investing in the exploitation of the country's natural resources at minimal cost. The Commission characterized this phenomenon as "closeness between leaders and corrupt businessmen" which has led to political leaders "interfering in taking executive decisions which were not their responsibility in order to please their business friends." These decisions do not often consider national interest but are "for personal interest (of the leaders) and that of the businessmen" (ibid., Vol. 1:63). In this part, we will show instances of decision-making processes in respect of EIA processes for foreign investment in the natural resources sectors.