At the same time, the president has directed the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to immediately shelve the exercise to expel artisanal miners from Nyaligongo village, Mwakitolyo Ward in Shinyanga Region.
Instead, he said, the small miners should be left to continue with their activities while an investor claiming to own the area should have his/her licence revoked.
Dr Magufuli told the Deputy Minister for Regional Administration and Local Governments, Mr Selemani Jafo and his Permanent Secretary, Mr Mussa Iyombe, to implement his directive by immediately stopping the plan to evict the machinga in Mwanza and other regions until responsible authorities complete preparing alternative sites for relocating the latter through a participatory approach.
For a long time now, the ‘machinga’ and authorities in several regions, particularly in the cities, have been engaged in tugs-of-war that in many cases degenerated into chaos, especially after law enforcers used force to evict the petty traders, resulting into loss and damage to properties or even injuries and deaths.
Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Mbeya cities were predominantly featuring the uproars as the petty traders staged protests against leaving the urban areas for the reason that they will miss customers.
A statement issued yesterday by the Directorate of Presidential Communications quoted the president as saying: “any leader who thinks he/she is not ready to implement such a directive should step down.’’
There has of late emerged attitude by some Regional Commissioners (RCs), District Commissioners (DCs) and District Executive Director (DEDs) who evict the ‘machinga’ without following any procedures of relocating them, at times sending them to distant places that are not suitable for business. “Sometimes they chase away the artisanal miners from places where they carry out their activities.
This is not right,” Dr Magufuli charged. He pointed out, however, that he did not condone petty traders who conduct businesses on the road reserves. “But there is no law in this country prohibiting small traders do their activities in the city centres.
If we follow that system, it means that we are going to form social classes that would give a certain group of Tanzanians a right to stay at the city centre and deny the same to others,’’ Dr Magufuli observed.
He added: “this isn’t our direction as stipulated in the CCM manifesto, which we marketed during election campaigns. The document does not say that we will form classes of people who deserve to be at the city centre and those who do not.’’
The president further said: “I repeat and this should be the last such incidence … go and tell the machinga in Mwanza to go back to their previous areas until after authorities prepare other trading places for them,” he said when speaking to Mr Jafo and Engineer Iyombe in the presence of the Vice-President, Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan.However, he told the ‘machinga’ to observe the laws when conducting their activities at the city centres.
Dr Magufuli went on directing the Energy and Minerals Ministry to bring back the artisanal miners who had been removed from their mines.
“Those evicted in Shinyanga should remain at their mines, and the licence of the investor should be revoked … Vice-President, make a follow up on this please. Tell the Minister for Energy and Minerals that they should stop evicting people arbitrarily.
These people get their daily bread there,” he stressed. President Magufuli also condemned acts whereby major investors are given land on which the small miners had already started their activities.
Meanwhile, NASHON KENNEDY reports from Mwanza that big crowds of petty traders were yesterday seen running across the streets of the Lake Victoria-side city, chanting heroes’ songs while wishing P Dr Magufuli good health and prosperity in his leadership.
Daily News
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