Dar es
Salaam:
Tanzania
Women Miners Association (TAWOMA) has urged the Minister of Minerals and Energy
Prof Sospeter Muhongo not to waver in addressing the concerns of
small miners, who feel sidelined for a long time in favour of big miners.
“We are
happy the new minister has started very well. Taking the initiative to call representatives
of small miners ..listening to our problems on first hand basis means a lot,” said
TAWOMA chairlady, Ms Eunice Negele.
She said
after meeting the minister in Dodoma, they have faith that he was committed to
ensuring a business environment that
will see small miners climbing out the walls of poverty.
The minister
had called in the artisanal miners to discuss best ways to improve their
activities.
The
chairlady said in a press statement released yesterday that small miners face
uphill problems for many years.
“The issues
the minister has promised to address we have been agitating for them for many
years,” she said.
Here is a
list of some of the challenges presented
to the minister and promised to work on them.
1: Education:
Artisanal
miners don’t have adequate education on mining business. The minister promised
the government would work on providing education to small miners, who need to
learn about new technology and business acumen. New books would be availed, he said.
2: Land :
Small miners
don’t have security of tenure on the lands they work on. The minister promised the government would set
up special zones for small miners, and there would be more transparency in issuance
of mining licenses.
3 Finance:
Small miners
don’t have access to finance as they don’t have collaterals. The minister promised
to address the issue through Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB).
4: Modern
Tools:
Artisanal miners use outdated, sometimes
dangerous technology and the minister promised to look at ways of modernizing
artisanal mining.
5; Markets:
Small scale miners called upon the government
to establish a joint market (soko la pamoja) for artisanal miners, which would
also help stab illegal exportation of the country’s minerals. The minister
promised to look at it.
6: Value
additions;
Small miner asked for help in processing at
home some of the minerals for value additions. The Minister promised the
government would create a conducive environment for the mining sector so as to
attract private companies to invest in value addition for the mining sector.
7: CONFLICTS
—- Small miners wanted the conflicts
between large and small miners to be reduced, by the government addressing the
concerns of the artisanal miners.
8: Unity of
purpose
The minister
asked the small miners to be united from district, regional to national level,
so as to seek collective solutions to the woes facing them.
According to
Ms Negele small scale miners face
challenges such as lack of markets and lack of permanent mining areas among
others.
Commenting
on market, Ms Negele said small scale miners lack common market and as a result
they sell minerals they mine at exploitative prices.
“If artisanal miners will have a common market
it will help them to sell their minerals at justifiable prices,” she said.
Negele said
most of the mineral rich areas are in the hands of the large scale miners
leaving artisanal miners with poor and no permanent areas to conduct their
activities.
Tawoma
Secretary General Shamsa Diwani stressed the need for the government to
organize mineral exhibition shows in the country. This will enable small scale
miners to advertise and sell our minerals.
Diwani said that the country should also establish
minerals marketing centers for selling minerals.
“We want
people from outside the country to come and buy the minerals from our country
this will help the miners to benefit as well as the country,” she said.
Diwani
further said that value addition to the minerals was crucial for the miners to
earn more.
“When we
export raw minerals we lose, because those who buy them get profit fourth to
ten times of the prices they bought from us…the government should train its
people and provide them with equipment so that they can add value to the
minerals before they were exported,” she said.
Commenting
on other challenges facing them some small scale miners called upon the government to increase the
budget for artisanal mining so that majority of them could benefit from it.
They however
said that the ministry of energy and minerals should involve them during the
preparations of its budget so that it could easier for it to know the needs of
the artisanal miners.
A Treasurer
with TAWOMA Leilla Jumbe said that the budget set aside for small scale miners
was not enough to meet their needs.
She said
only two people from TAWOMA have benefited from the funds while the association
comprised of 500 members.
“The budget
is not sufficient I think there is a need for the government to increase it so
that it could reach many people and its impact will be felt,” Ms Jumbe added.
She also advised
the government to establish a system where the funds will be disbursed
regionally so that at the end of the year the government could assess it
impacts to the beneficiaries.
Ms Mwanne
Ambari TAWOMA Vice Chairperson stressed the need for the government to educate
small scale miners on how the funds were obtained.
“There is a
need of increasing transparency on the entire system of issuing the funds
because majority of people don’t know how to get them,” Ms Ambari said.
ENDS.