Tanzania Lawmakers Want Mineral Audit Body Upgraded

Tanzanian law makers on the Energy and Minerals committee have asked government to upgrade the state-run mineral agency to a minerals auditing authority in a bid to enhance its mandate and effectiveness, a lawmaker said over the weekend.

According to William Shellukindo, chairman of the parliamentary committee on Energy and Minerals, lawmakers have recommended that the Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency be upgraded and renamed the Tanzania Minerals Auditing Authority in order to enhance its capacity and mandate to carry out its activities.

"In its current state, the audit agency is conflicting with Tanzania Revenue Authority over the auditing of the mining sector," and upgrading the agency would put an end to this, he said.

The Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency was established in 2009 to replace the Tanzania Audit Program under the ministry of Energy and Minerals Development. The agency is charged with assessing the quality and quantity of minerals produced and exported as well as monitoring and auditing of mining activities and environmental issues. By upgrading it to an authority, the agency would become autonomous; currently it is under the Energy and Minerals ministry.

Tanzania's mining sector is dominated by gold and the country is Africa's fourth largest gold producer after Mali, Ghana and South Africa.

Minerals auditing in Tanzania has in the past been marred by allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency. In 2007, two government treasury officials and two former ministers were arrested and charged with fraud and corruption over illegal dealings in mineral auditing. Their trail is still underway in the Dar-Es Salaam-based Magistrates' court.

Government officials say that since the establishment of the audit agency, the Tanzanian government saved at least 13 billion Tanzanian shillings ($8.64 million) last year because the agency spends less money on auditing compared with previous private auditors.

Gold miners operating in Tanzania include London-listed Africa Barrick Gold (ABG.LN), South Africa-based Anglogold Ashanti Ltd.(AU) and Australia-based Resolute Ltd.(RES.AU).

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615 [e-mail]