Govt decries molesting youths in mining sites in the country

The government has refuted reports being circulated by people living closer to mining sites that it is molesting small scale miners in mining areas. Clarifying the matter, the Minister for Home Affairs Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba said in the Parliament that, “the small scale miners have been having the habit of intruding to the areas which are not specifically designed for them to do mining activities and interfere with the investors. However, he further noted that as a result of this trend the notorious youths come into confrontation with the law enforcers while trying to evict them from such areas which belongs to investors. The home affairs minister was responding to the question earlier raised by the Special Seat legislator Suzan Masele (Chadema) who wanted to know why the police force in mining sites are harassing small scale miners. Dr. Nchemba noted that small scale miners have to wait for the permit from the government which would allow them do mining activities in such areas instead of invading the areas as by doing so is a criminal offense. Responding a supplementary question which the legislator asked as why the investors are given larger areas to do mining activities, the minister noted that, the areas given to investors depends on the permit issued by Tanzania Investment Centre (ICT).