Stakeholders in Tanzania's mining sector have warned the country's government to make sure contracts are signed to benefit the general public as natural resource discoveries increase. According to them, partnerships and investment agreements should boost productivity and benefit both investors and the government acting on behalf of its citizens.
Their warning follows allegations that some nations having access to vast natural resources, such as oil and gas and minerals, have failed to provide for their populations as a result of ineffective management.
In what is known as the "resource curse," they said that a number of African nations have finally ended up descending into civil war and never-ending battles. During a session with specialists in the sector organized by the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), representatives of the extractive industry relayed the warning.
Donald Mmari, executive director of Repoa, claimed that the amount of investment capital needed for extraction activities is too high for most countries to manage without enlisting investors. “Investors bring in capital, while countries offer resources. We are therefore required to be careful when striking the deals in order to benefit both sides involved in the contract,” he stated.
According to him, the nation should consider how this industry is related to others and make sure that investment has a wide range of consequences for many other industries. In addition, he added that Tanzania must consider how to bolster its economy by utilizing the resources obtained from the extractive sector.
“There are resources that are depleted after a few years of extraction meaning that they should be converted to other resources that will significantly contribute to the country’s economic growth before depletion,” the executive director said. He also warned that: “There are countries that have failed to properly use such resources while others have benefited, which should be a lesson to Tanzania.”
Moses Kulaba, the manager of the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) in East Africa, asserted that the extractive industry required effective oversight of tax collection.
“The sector is rapidly growing making it important for the country to increase its revenue collection in order to benefit its people,” he said. “Climate change could adversely affect the sector’s growth, therefore placing the need for government’s preparation that will guarantee its growth and prosperity for the benefit of the general public,” he added.