Environs experts not shocked by Mruma’s report

Dar es Salaam. The Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT) has said there is nothing shocking about the report made public on Wednesday on the content of copper concentrates in mineral sands.

A probe team formed in April, this year, by President John Magufuli to investigate the content of minerals in sands for export, revealed massive fraud in mineral sand dealings. The report findings led to the sacking of the Energy and Minerals Minister, Prof Sospeter Muhongo.  

LEAT’s managing director, Mr Rugemeleza Nshala, said in a statement today that the committee’s findings were actually what they were unsuccessful voicing over, during the third and the fourth phase government administrations.

“There is no wonder in their findings, we expected this to happen,” noted Mr Nshala, adding, “this is the outcome of our concerns falling on deaf ears.”

LEAT’s long cry, he said, had been on poor institutional and legal frameworks, explaining that it provided a loophole for losing the country’s wealth to investors.

He said the system allowed the investors to get involved in transfer pricing, leading to huge debt-equity ratio.

It also gave room for assaying and poor system in mineral development and production sharing agreements, according to him.

“This leads to the government accounts for small share of what is obtained from the sector,” noted Mr Nshala.

He cited the example of Tanzanite, saying while Tiffany USA-based Company enjoyed $600 million (about Sh1.3 trillion at the prevailing exchange rate), Tanzania was putting into pocket only between $13 million (Sh28.9 billion) and $16 million (Sh35.6 billion).   

He called for the government to formulate a mining policy committee, comprising members from, and outside the government so that it could review the mining contracts, including the 2010 Act amended in 2015.

LEAT also was of the view that within the government, there should be a keen lawyers’ department, dealing with gas, petrol and mining. 

The department’s members, he cautioned, should be well trained on all principles of contractual laws, investments and discussions about mining, oil and gas contracts.

Mr Nshala also urged the government to revoke licenses of all mining companies which involved in the theft of the country’s wealth and direct those with tax arrears to pay immediately.