President Magufuli swears-in new appointees, emphasizes on mineral centres

President John Magufuli has ordered the newly appointed Minister of Minerals, Dotto Biteko to fast-track the construction of mineral centers in all mineral producing regions in the country. 

He gave the directive earlier on Wednesday at the State House in Dar es Salaam, during the swearing-in ceremony of the government officials he appointed yesterday in a min-cabinet reshuffle. 

President Magufuli explained that his order intends to eliminate theft and unlawful exportation of minerals causing massive economic loss to the country.

“The mining sector still faces huge challenges, although Tanzania is the number one country in East Africa in gold production. Unfortunately, we’re not the leading country in exporting it (gold) in the international markets,” he said.

The Head of State also instructed Minister Biteko to work with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and plan on how to start buying gold and reserve it.

“We must start reserving our gold, it will serve us in terms of need,” he added.