nngu007
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 2, 2010
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| Sunday June 19, 2011 |
| From the Parliament |
| Gvt urged to revive defunct mine |
From JOHN KULEKANA in Dodoma, 17th June 2011 @ 12:00,
A MEMBER of Parliament (MP) on Friday urged the government to revive the Buhemba Gold Mine in Mara Region, which is under the Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF).
"I don't know who is currently benefitting from the mine, perhaps some foreigners from Kenya or South Africa," said Mr Nimrod Mkono (Musoma Rural-CCM) adding:
"I also don't believe that the mine is truly under the people's army but a bunch of thieves."
Complaints against operations at the mine had been going on for many years, but it appears the solution was not in sight, the MP noted.
The legislator also demanded the government to allocate funds for construction of several roads and an airport in Musoma earlier promised by the government.
Meanwhile, Mr Mkono has advised the government to increase value added tax (VAT) and reduce income tax. He suggested VAT to be charged at 21 per cent, up from 18 per cent at present.
He said the rate of government revenue collection was not growing up fast and called for various measures to improve the situation, including restricting of the tax regime.
He said income tax charged at 30 per cent was prohibitive to small scale businesses. The MP said that the tariff should be reviewed down to 26 per cent.
In another development, Mr Mkono said a unit responsible for Public Private Partnership (PPP) activities should not be under the Treasury.
He accused the Treasury of excessive red-tape and blamed it for delaying workers' allowances and disbursement of funds for Higher Education Students Loans Board (HESLB).
