By Special Correspondent, Nairobi
HAD it not been for the reforms
implemented in Tanzania’s mining sector, a small-scale miner, Joseph Tenela, could
not have fetched more than TZS 3 billion (about $ 1.4m) from his discovery of a
diamond weighing 512.15 Carats in Shinyanga Region.
The current Tanzanian government has
reduced several taxes and fees that were to be paid by the miners, established
special mining stock markets for all gemstones and other mining, so that small
dealers and miners like Joseph can no longer run to the dark markets.
Speaking r3ecently on the
development, the Deputy Minister for Minerals, Hon. Stanslaus Nyongo, confirmed
the exceptional discovery that happened at the Maganzo mining area in Shinyanga.
Under the new ‘mining stocks’
system, small-scale miners are especially compelled to openly trade their
mineral findings on location through special exchanges, instead of selling them
through perfidious underhand dealings as was the case for far too long in the
past.
It was through such
‘behind-the-scenes’ deals that the Government lost untold sums in public
revenues over the years as well as the miners could not fetch a reasonable
price for their own gemstones.
As Mr. Nyongo said, such a size of a
diamond that was mined by Mr. Joseph and his associates is the biggest ever and
he had to get support from the government to benefits from its value.
"So Joseph Tenela – a simple
but well-meaning small-scale miner who is duly licensed for the job – has found
the biggest diamond ever. We as the responsible Ministry have used our experts
to make an evaluation of the diamond so that he gets the most value of it and
pay our taxes,” he said. Thanks to the recently established stock markets.
The establishment of 21 mineral stock
centers across Tanzania is the result of the good work by the Fifth-Phase
Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, ably led by His Excellency Dr.
John Pombe Magufuli as President and Head of State, sworn into the Highest
Office in the Land on November 5, 2015.
In the relatively short period since
the system was put in place, around TZS 34.3 billion (about $16m) has been
obtained from gold sales in various regions of the country under the procedure,
which is proving to be a foolproof system in the mining industry.
Ends
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