Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Tanzanian government has reorganised to promote and elevate Tanzanite internationally through a strategy to restore the status of the rare stone in the world.
Minerals Minister, Anthony Mavunde, revealed the strategies at a meeting with small-scale miners and gemstone traders in the Magufuli Wall area, Mirerani in Manyara region, saying the move aims to restore the status and demand for Tanzanite to enhance its value and market in the world.
At the meeting, which also included a ceremony to hand over licenses to 423 beneficiaries, Minister Mavunde said the government is determined to restore gemstone auctions as a way to increase transparency, competition and the value of gemstones in the country.
Elaborating further, he said the government is continuing to complete the construction of the Tanzanite Exchange Centre (TEC), a building that has so far reached 98 per cent of construction in two floors and asked the contractor to accelerate so that the centre can start operating early and serve as an international hub for the Tanzanite trade.
“We want visitors who come to buy Tanzanite to get all the necessary services in one place, from banking services, hotels, to business-friendly infrastructure,” said Mavunde.
Also, Minister Mavunde stressed that the mission of the government is to see Mirerani, Arusha and other areas in the country become the hub of the gemstone trade in Africa.
“President Samia wants to see ‘the gemstone trade system like Hong Kong and Dubai moving and coming here to Simanjiro,” he said.
Citing the major challenges facing small-scale miners, Minister Mavunde said the government is in talks with the Ministry of Finance to facilitate access to capital through guarantee funds to enable youth, women and small-scale miners to strengthen their activities.
He also said the government has purchased 15 mining machines to help the miners increase production.
In the government’s revenue statement, Mavunde said the mining sector has continued to be an important pillar of the economy, where last year for the first time it contributed one trillion shillings to the government’s general fund.
“This financial year 2025/2026, the sector is set to collect 1.2tri/-, and so far, more than 500bn/-has already been collected.
In addition, Minister Mavunde said that there is still a high possibility of finding Tanzanite outside the Mirerani wall area, and that the Government is continuing to conduct in-depth research to identify new areas with this resource.
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