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Ministry of Energy, Minerals under fire
2006-07-19 09:52:07
By Pastory Nguvu, Dodoma
The Ministry of Energy and Minerals is allocated billions year in out but little can be seen out of the colossal amounts, legislators said on Monday in Parliament.
Kasulu West legislator Kilontsi Mporogomyi (CCM) made the claims shortly after the budget for the Ministry was tabled for debate by the parliamentarians.
Mporogomyi blasted the ministry saying it was a house full of bureaucracy in all its undertakings.
’’Mr. Speaker, billions of shillings are always allocated to the Ministry for Energy and Minerals but it does nothing to develop and improve peoples’ lives in this country.
For years we have been witnessing bureaucracy and the denial of people’s rights at the ministry,’’ he said shooting the first salvo.
Mporogomyi cited the problem of double allocation of mining plots at Simbaguru in Dodoma Rural as one of weakness the ministry had shown.
The legislator wanted to get explanations on why the ministry has failed to solve the problem of double land allocation of a mining plot for about three years now.
’’Mr. Speaker, let me mention the issue - Mandinga Mandinga started as a small-miner at Mandari ward in Dodoma Rural.
He started mining in 1993 and got a license the same year. In 2000, Mandinga got an investor through the Tanzania Chambers of Commerce and its counterparts in Germany, Switzerland and Austria,’’ he said
He told the House that on February 2002, the investors started exploration at Simbaguru, a task that ended on September the same year.
He said a pre-feasibility report was written by Mandinga Mandinga which was sent to among others -TIC, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Regional Commissioner in Dodoma and an official of minerals in Dodoma.
He said the report was clear the area had a possibility of having a good reserve of gold.
’’Mr. Speaker after the report was distributed problems started. In May 2003, a company known as Shanta was given the same area using the same report which Madinga had prepared.
Shanta submitted the report to the a secondary market in London
He said that a London based company called SRK made due diligence that confirmed the area in dispute had a huge gold reserve.
’’Mr. Speaker on March 26, 2003 Commissioner for Minerals Mwakalukwa authorised that Mandinga and his joint venture partners to be evicted from the area after the discovery of gold. In 2002 the minister for Energy and Minerals, Daniel Yona gave Mandinga license which would expire in 2005.
How comes in 2003 Mandinga and his investors were told they did not have any land? Why did the commissioner for minerals sign a letter demanding for Mandinga to be evicted?
He said the new minister and his deputy were aware of the dispute but had done nothing to solve it.
CUF legislator, Hamad Rashid Mohamed also brought up Williams Diamond Company case saying the firm had signed controversial contracts with the ministry.
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