DAR ES SALAAM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A Tanzanian government senior official said on Monday that the contribution of minerals to the east African nation's gross domestic product (GDP) will reach 10 percent by 2025 given the current growth trend.
Dotto Biteko, Minister for Minerals, said the mineral sector's contribution to the GDP hit 5.07 percent in 2015 from about 3.5 percent in 2010 because of the reforms taken in the sector.
"Reforms taken by the government in recent years have boosted the sector," Biteko said at an official inauguration of a minerals auction center in the country's northern city of Arusha.
The official said small scale miners are now paying tax and they are operating legally and there are no cases of further harassment.
The minister said the Mining Act (Act No. 4 of 2010) amended in 2017 recognizes contribution of small scale miners for the sector's growth.
Biteko said due to a raft of reforms, government revenues from the minerals sector have more than tripled in various segments, with the sales from small-scale miners now making impact.
Among the incentives taken to motivate the small scale miners was the scrapping of the value added tax on the mineral exports and the five percent withholding tax.
Biteko said the government revenue collections shot up sharply to 196 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 85.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, rising to 265 billion shillings last year with 310 billion shillings projected this year.
The Arusha minerals buying center has already attracted 17 out of nearly 100 licensed mineral dealers in Arusha region, including gemstone miners who have scattered sales points around the city.
