Food vendors give impressive testimonies over clean energy use

MBEYA: SOME food vendors, both men and women, have expressed their experiences after using clean energy for cooking, including saving time and health.

The vendors were speaking here in Mbeya Region on Tuesday at an event brought together 1000 food vendors to participate in cooking competition using the gas stoves.

The event, organised by Mbeya Urban legislator and National Assembly Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson in partnership with the Oryx Gas Tanzania Limited (OGTL), was meant to promote the use of the clean energy in supporting President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s efforts to make more Tanzanians shift to clean energy.

A food vendor, Ms Yusra Ismail, said: “the cooking gas has been helping us in our activities, we spend less time in preparing food. When using firewood and charcoal more time was spent and health was affected too.”
Ms Ismail said they support President Samia’s initiative for clean energy promotion in the country because using gas for cooking in their activities is paramount.

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Another food vendor, Ms Sabrina Anold, also testified that her fellow food vendors in Mbeya have been highly motivated to use cooking gas which has brought many benefits to them.

“Dr Tulia in collaboration with the Oryx Gas have helped us because initially we had been using firewood and charcoal whereby we were losing time. But, with the clean energy we can spend less time and save our health,” Ms Anold stated.

Mr Yusuph Maumba, also a food vendor, admitted that the competition has increased motivation for using the clean energy among them.

“We will continue supporting President Samia in protecting the environment through the use of clean energy,” Mr Maumba added.

Speaking with journalists, OGTL’s clean energy projects manager Peter Ndomba pointed out that the competition was useful considering that food vendors are at risk of getting health effects due to the use of firewood and charcoal.

“We (Oryx) currently have strategy to motivate the public refrain from using the firewood and charcoal,” Mr Ndomba said.

He added: “the competition is a continuation of promotion of the use of clean energy for cooking.”