Tanzania Government: Small-Scale Miners Boost Revenue, Access to Finance

Dodoma — THE government has said that over the past five years small-scale miners have contributed about 40 per cent of government revenue from mining, highlighting their growing role in the sector. This was said yesterday by the Deputy Minister for Energy Salome Makamba while responding to a question from Aziza Ally (Special Seats, CCM) on the contribution of the two categories of operators. Ms Ally asked for a breakdown of large- and small-scale miners' contribution over the period. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn She said the government is seeking to increase small-scale miners' output by improving their access to financing. Ms Makamba siad through the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO), the Ministry for Minerals has signed agreements with CRDB, NMB, KCB and NBC to establish special lending arrangements for small-scale miners. "These financing arrangements are meant to enable small-scale miners to access funds and increase their production," said Ms Makamba. She said that government revenue from mining increased from 624.61bn/- in 2021/22 to 1.39tri/- in 2025/26, while mining's contribution to gross domestic product rose from 7.1 per cent in 2020 to 10.3 per cent in 2025. The increase put the sector's GDP contribution above the government's 10 per cent target. In a supplementary question, Ms Ally asked what additional measures were being taken to help small-scale miners secure loans and expand their contribution to the economy. She also asked whether the government is offering tax relief or other incentives to help medium-scale operators transition into large-scale mining. In response Ms Makamba said amendments to mining laws now allow licence holders who lack sufficient capital to seek technical assistance from qualified local and international experts to develop their licences. Furthermore, she pointed out that, the government has also designated specific areas for small-scale mining to prevent operators from competing with large-scale miners for mineral-rich land, she said. "The Ministry for Finance has an institution that provides loan guarantees to help small-scale miners access affordable financing," said Ms Makamba. She added that government would continue improving access to mining areas, technical and financial services, mineral markets, processing technology, and systems for regulating mineral trade. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "These measures will enable small-scale miners to increase production and strengthen their contribution to the national economy," she said. Read the original article on Daily News . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow th