Tanzania succeeds in African Mining Vision implementation
Tanzania has made great strides in implementing the African Mining Vision (AMV) 2050 which aims at eradicating poverty in mineral rich African countries.
This is according to a new Introductory Guidance for Tanzania’s Mining Sector. The AMV wants the countries to achieve poverty reduction through improved mining regimes, tax revenue optimisation and the integration of mining into development policies at local, national and regional levels.
The document, launched recently in Dar es Salaam by Minister of State in the Vice- President’s Office for Union Affairs and Environment, January Makamba, says the country has placed itself in a good position in implementing this initiative by the African Union (AU) with a number of projects that had been launched in line with it.
Developed by the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME) in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the document includes another document entitled ‘Capacity Development in the Energy Sector and Extractive Industries’ (CADESE).
Signed in 2014, CADESE, a demand driven and results oriented initiative, focuses on capacity development for the management of the energy and extractive industries. The Tanzania Natural Resource Charter which aims at assisting the government with diagnosing gaps and opportunities along the decision chain for natural resource management is another example.
The mining sector guiding document also projects that government revenues from the mining and oil and gas sectors are likely to climb in the short term. Such revenues, it asserts, will present governance challenges for the government and thus will provide guidance on how to avoid the pitfalls experienced in some other mineralrich countries.
When launching the document, Makamba cautioned mining companies over environmental degradation, saying the matter can lead to social grievances around mining sites. He told the companies to maintain good social relations in areas they operate, including taking into consideration environmental issues that could affect the communities.
He went on pointing out that the government was considering capacity building among artisanal miners so that they mine in a manner which is environmentally friendly.
Chairman of the TCME, Ambassador Ami Mpungwe, said the chamber membership, singularly and collectively, was deeply committed to the renewed concern and care for the environment as an imperative for survival and sustainable development of the sector.