Government earns 1.8tri/- from extractive sector

DAR ES SALAAM: THE government has earned a total of 1.877tri/- from 44 companies compared in the mining, oil and gas sectors, with a discrepancy of 402.41m/- between payments and revenues for the financial year 2021/22.

This was revealed by the Minister for Minerals, Mr Anthony Mavunde during launching of the 14th report of the Tanzania Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TEITI) held in Dar es Salaam.

Mr Mavunde said that out of 44 companies, 26 are in the mining sector; seven are in natural gas and oil; and 11 are service providers in the mining, oil and natural gas sectors.

He mentioned that the companies reported paying 1.878tri/- to the government, resulting in a discrepancy of 402 million shillings, equivalent to 0.021per cent of all reported government revenues.

He directed that the 402m/- discrepancy be thoroughly analysed to identify the causes, so that the Committee can advise both the companies and the government on measures to prevent such discrepancies in future comparisons.

He also highlighted that in addition to other issues in the TEITI report, various data have been disclosed to comply with EITI International Standards and the law governing TEITI activities in the country.

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The Minister said the disclosed data includes production and export statistics of mineral, oil and natural gas resources, employment statistics in the extractive sector, companies’ contributions to the community (Corporate Social Responsibilities – CSR) and local participation in the extractive sector, including providing services to extractive companies (Local content).

Earlier, speaking at the event, TEITI Committee Chairman, Mr Ludovick Utouh said the purpose of the report launch was to make information available to citizens and various stakeholders, so that they can use the statistics for discussions to improve and increase contribution of the mining, oil and natural gas sector to the National GDP.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Energy and Minerals, Dr David Mathayo, commended the government for providing transparent information on revenue comparisons from the extractive sector and urged Tanzanians to review and understand how the sector contributes to the country’s economic growth.