Publication

This paper analyzes the history of perceived rights in Tanzania, as narrowly applied to oil/gas and mining projects. Basically, the laissez faire approach that existed during the country’s colonial period yielded in time to the state becoming involved – as an investor – in the resource extraction sector. The government’s role then waxed and waned over the years, but the Tanzanian state has managed, via detailed legislation, to strip away smallholder rights when it comes to land use and resource extraction.