THE government has instructed the National Development Corporation (NDC) to quickly revive the Liganga and Mchuchuma coal project so that it can start producing steel and help the country earn foreign currency.

Dr Selemani Jafo, the Industry and Trade minister, issued this directive yesterday at a working session with heads of commercial institutions operating under the ministry and board chairmen at offices of the Tanzania Trade Development Authority (Tantrade) in Dar es Salaam.

He discounted any viable reason why the project has perennially stalled while it carries strategic resources needed in various countries to produce steel products for regional and global markets.

He recalled hearing the same news about Mchuchuma and Liganga since entering the National Assembly in 2010, stressing that NDC should take care of this matter to ensure the project starts producing steel.

“This is my order, I want to get answers quickly," he stated, affirming that he expects the NDC board to present a roadmap on “how we are going to ensure that we get out of where we are.”

He aired the possibility that there may be unsolved contractual issues curbing progress, reiterating that such issues need to be solved so that the stalling comes to an end.

He similarly directed that the NDC proceed with the Engaruka soda ash project in Arusha Region by finding out people who need to be compensated for the project to start, stressing that the Engaruka project is similar to Liganga and Mchuchuma as a strategic project.

They are resources that if used well will help to increase employment for young people and raise the national economy, he said, demanding that the work be conducted with speed. NDC has to report on what it has done within a month to avoid the project being stalled again.

Underlining that the public sector cannot employ all those graduating from various training institutions, he urged more efforts to ensure that the private sector grows fast enough to take a large number of such youths.

The minister castigated those he described as selfish leaders in the ministry, appealing to senior officials to consult others and listen to alternative ideas, objecting to impressions that “some leaders have turned themselves into monoliths in some offices. What they want is what is done even if it is not beneficial for the ministry.”

Leaders must involve their colleagues in making decisions on various issues and abandon the dictatorship of doing everything as themselves, he emphasised, pointing at anomalies where some ministerial institutions have a bad relationship with the top leadership.

This contributes to weakening planned development, he said, asking leaders of institutions under the ministry to work on issues raised by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) to avoid such mistakes made in future audits.

Arguments in the CAG report mostly involve the use of money, “so heads of institutions need to properly manage the use of money to get clean certificates in the next audit,” he urged, demanding that he sees unqualified documents in the coming CAG audits.

The board chairman must carefully supervise expenditure and the permanent secretary hand over the CAG’s opinions concerning each institution “so that the ministry can look at where we have gone wrong," he added.