Zitto calls on Magufuli to be stern with mines

Dar es Salaam. The leader of opposition party, Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) Zitto Kabwe has called on President John Magufuli to walk the talk on fixing revenue collection from mega mines in the country.

In his campaign address to the residents of Isaghe ward in Kahama which was availed to The Citizen, Mr Kabwe challenged President Magufuli to spearhead reforms in the mining sector in order to boost the national income.

Isaghe ward, which is located at the mining town of Kahama is one of the 26 wards across the country which are expected to go on by-election to vote for their councilors later on January 22.

According to Mr Kabwe, since Tanzania invited in foreign investors to conduct large scale gold mining in 1997, gold worth $20.5 billion (around Sh45 trillion) out of which the country got only $800 (around Sh1.6 trillion).

“For all the years we have received about Sh1.5 trillion only, which is about four per cent of the total revenues collected by foreign firms operating in the country,” said Mr Kabwe adding, “It is in that state of affairs that I wonder why President Magufuli, who is fighting corruption and sacking public leaders is not executing reforms in the mining sector and the country continues to be exploited. He only gave out two directives as far as the sector is banning export of mineral sand for smelting and allowing locals to access gold residuals.”

He said while the opposition challenged president Magufuli when he assumed the presidency over a year ago to make mining contracts public, he is yet to do so. “The President is still quiet on this issue while the foreigners are keeping on exploiting the country and billions of money are lost. The president should move on from dealing with small fishes to sort out these big national problems.”

“On my way here today I passed through Kakola-Kahama road which is still rough. I call it the exploitation road, although it connects the three biggest gold mines in the country, Buzwagi, Bulyanhulu and Geita the road is not tarmacked, that is an injustice to the people of this region and a national shame,” he said.

Mr Kabwe said that already there are some milestones that have already been achieved in the last government that President Magufuli should keep and move an extra mile.

He said changes started in 2007 after the Buzwagi scandal, where after two years of debates the Mining policy was enacted in 2009 and new Mining Act in 2010.

“As a result Buzwagi which was paying your local government only $200,000 per year was forced to pay 0.3 of service levy and today you are receiving around $1.5 million. The same boost is experienced in Nzega, Geita and Tarime … but it is unfortunate, and I am deeply saddened that all that hard work that we did under President Kikwete at the time by writing a new law, the country is yet to receive its fair share of its own natural resources,” he charged