Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Deputy Minister of State, President’s Office – Planning and Investment, Dr. Pius Stephen Chaya, has said the Tanzanian government has directed them to establish a One Stop Centre at border areas, a move aimed at reducing inconvenience to traders and investors importing gold into the country.
Speaking during his working visit to the Mwanza Gold Refinery, Dr. Chaya said the Government has identified the challenges facing trade and gold refining in the country and has begun taking steps to resolve them, while calling on the National Mining Corporation (STAMICO) to collaborate closely with the Government to improve the investment environment in the mining sector.
“We have instructed our colleagues in the Ministry to ensure that we establish an integrated government service delivery center at the border which will be similar to the one we established in Dar es Salaam at TISEZA, therefore, seeing this, we as the government are going to take steps to establish it to reduce inconvenience to our investors”, said Dr. Chaya.
In addition, the Deputy Minister has promised that the Government will work on the proposal for a one percent mineral inspection fee for gold imported into the country, saying that the issue is being assessed to see the best way to resolve it without affecting Government revenue or the growth of the mining sector.
For his part, the Secretary of STAMICO, Lawyer Mudrikat Kiobya, said that the fee has become a challenge for many foreign traders, a situation that reduces the amount of gold entering the country and affects refining activities and the mining trade in general.
