State delves into mineral riches

LINDI, Ruangwa : PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has said the government will continue investing in mineral resources’ exploration as a basis for full-scale mining investment to transform the citizens’ livelihoods and national economy.

President Samia made the statement on Monday while addressing citizens at a public rally in Ruangwa District, Lindi Region as part of her working visit in the Southern Zone.

Dr Samia said thorough exploration will provide vital information for effective mining of minerals available in the country as the government looks to diversify the sector and create more jobs and improve the citizens’ living standards.

“We will conduct geological surveys to know the quality and quantity of mineral deposits we have and in turn also group small miners to enable them apply the latest mining technologies for better income generation, because resources must bring development to the nationals,” the president pointed out.

In a related development, the Head of State noted that the Lindi Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project is on track with the government finalising negotiation with investors, adding that the scheme will benefit all citizens through jobs’ creations.

Citing Lindi Region as one of the areas with abundant graphite minerals in the country, President Samia with good local leadership, it stands at a better position to address challenges in its extraction.

On improving the agricultural sector in the area, Dr Samia said the government was set to increase the number of factories to ensure value addition for locally produced crops.

She said the exportation of value-added agro products such as cashew nuts will stabilise the price of the respective crops and safeguard local jobs.

Dr Samia noted that the government was set to widen the market for farmers to sell their produce at profit, adding that the efforts were also geared towards strengthening the agricultural production chain and in return catalyse output in other economic sectors.

The government, she said, will continue subsidising fertilisers to support farmers, urging them to save money for the purchase of other farming inputs.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, who also doubles as  Ruangwa Member of Parliament (MP) thanked President Samia for enhancing the minerals’ exploration that led to the discovery of graphite in the area.

He said geological surveys confirmed the availability of minerals including graphite in Ruangwa District, attracting four major mining investors.

The Premier was optimistic that mining activities will raise the livelihoods of Ruangwa residents.

PM Majaliwa also commended the president for setting aside some 50bn/- for agricultural subsidies in Ruangwa, noting that currently the target of the district is to increase production of crops such as peas, sesame and cashew nuts to catch up with the emerging markets.

“So far a kilogramme of peas sells at 2200/-,” he said, noting that the price was the highest ever recorded in Ruangwa.

‘With this rise in price, our farmers will be motivated even further to increase their production,” he said.