United Republic of Tanzania: New mining bill passed
Description
The parliament of Tanzania passed a new mining bill on 23 April 2010. Revision of the existing law is because of agitations about the contribution of the mining sector to the economy. In 2008, the government set up a committe to review the existing mining law. Suggestions by the committee included:
i) The reservation of gemstones mining to local people only.
ii) Abolishment of tax exemptions on imported fuel and other mining equipment
iii) Review of taxes paid by multinational companies
iv) Joint shareholding between government and investors in mining projects
The new mining bill 2010 contains the following propositions:
I) 'A primary mining licence for any minerals shall not be granted to an individual, partnership or body corporate unless-
(a) in the case of an individual, the individual is a citizen of Tanzania;
(b) in the case of a partnership, it is composed exclusively of citizens of Tanzania;
(c) in the case of a body corporate, it is a company and-
(i) its membership is composed exclusively of citizens of Tanzania;
(ii) its directors are all citizens of Tanzania;
(iii) control over the company, both direct and indirect, is exercised, from within Tanzania by persons all of whom are citizens of Tanzania.'
II) 'A mining licence for mining gemstone minerals shall not be granted to a non-citizen unless the licence is held in undivided participating shares with the citizen of Tanzania whose undivided participating shares amount to not less than fifty per centum either alone or in the aggregate in the case of more than one person.'
III) 'A special mining licence for mining gemstone shall not be granted to a non-citizen unless the licence is held by that person in undivided participating shares with a citizen or citizens of Tanzania whose undivided participating share or shares amount to not less than twenty five per centum either alone or in the aggregate, in the case of more than one person.'
IV) Royalty payments have been increased and the formula for calculating royalty payments revised. 'Every authorised miner shall pay to the Government of the United Republic a royalty on the gross value of minerals produced under his licence at the rate-
(a) in the case of uranium, of five per centum;
(b) in the case of gemstone and diamond, of five per centum;
(c) in the case of metallic minerals such as copper, gold, silver, and platinum group minerals, of four per centum
(d) in the case of gem, of one per centum; and
(e) in the case of other minerals, including building materials, salt, all minerals within the industrial minerals group, of three per centum.
V) With regards to mining firms listing on the stock exchange and shareholding rules, the bill proposes that 'the Minister shall, in consultation with holders of special mining licence, make regulations prescribing the minimum shareholding requirement and procedure for selling shares to the Government and, in accordance with the provisions of the Capital Market and Securities Act, offering shares to the public through listing with the stock exchange.'
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | Don't know |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | Don't Know |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | Don't Know |
| Was such evidence identified? | Don't Know |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | Don't Know |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | Don't Know |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | Don't Know |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | Don't Know |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? | No |
Date Discovered: 20/04/2010
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 23 Apr 2010
GTA Evaluation: Amber
Source:
Parliament of Tanzania, 'The United Republic of Tanzania, Special Bill Supplement, No 1, 10 April 2010. The Mining Act 2010' http://www.parliament.go.tz/bunge/docs/minning_bill.pdf
Government Response:
- 456 reads
