The decision came after the Deputy Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Engineer Stella Manyanya, convened an emergency meeting with all stakeholders involved in the cement and coal industry to figure out how best look the problem can be addressed.
Flanked by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Professor Joseph Buchweshaija, Eng Manyanya, led a meeting with stakeholders on Wednesday night. It was in the wake of a section of the local media reporting that a cement shortage was looming and had triggered a shortage of cement and itsprice being hiked on an unprecedented scale.
The meeting was conducted in camera after stakeholders requested that the media be excluded, to enable stakeholders air their views freely, with the deputy minister promising to brief journalists thereafter.
During the briefing session, Eng Manyanya said both the government and stakeholders had unanimously agreed that cement exports should cease until the deficit was covered. She said both parties came to a conclusion that exports should only commence after it would have been conclusively established that there was enough cement for meeting local market demands.
The deputy minister further said that the government and stakeholders agreed that the infrastructure to and from the cement and coal producing factories be improved to facilitate smooth transportation of the end products.
Prior to the meeting, the deputy minister asked transporters, producers and other stakeholders of the cement sector to make sure that they came out with a solution on how to ensure availability of cement in the country.
She said the government was implementing various projects, including the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which entailed adequate cement production. She added that Tanzanians were similarly in dire need of the commodity for daily domestic and business operations.
“We are surprised to note that cement has become abruptly scarce, while we had enough stock, compelling customers to purchase it at 11,000/- per 50 kilogramme” Eng Manyanya stated.
She asked the main producers, including Twiga Cement and Tanga Cement, to give reasons why there was a shortage of cement at their distribution points. Tanga Cement Plant Manger Engineer Benedict Lema, said his factory had an installed capacity of 1.25 million tonnes but in recent days, the industry was not producing to its full capacity due to some reasons.
He however, explained that the factory would resume its full capacity this week. There has been a slowdown in the production of building materials at major cement production centres, leading to shortage of the commodity.
The price has as a result been hiked from 13,000/- per 50 kilogramme bag to 16,000 and over 20,000/- in some areas. Twiga Cement General Manager Alfonso Velez, said production had dropped because at some point they switched off some turbines for repairs.
However, he said the operations were now on full capacity. “We currently have a team that is working round the clock and as of yesterday (Tuesday), production had resumed to full capacity” he explained.
Other stakeholders who attended the meeting include representatives from Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA), Tanzania Track Owners Association (TATOA), State Mining Corporation (STAMICO), National Development Corporation (NDC) and Tancoal Energy Limited (TANCOAL).
On addressing shortage of coal, the STAMICO acting Director of Research and Drilling, Mr Alex Rutagwele, said beginning next month, his corporation would embark on production of 18,000 tonnes of coal in Kaburo Village in Songwe Region’s Ileje District.
Daily News
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