The government wants all processing and trading activities for tanzanite gemstones to take place at Mererani where the rare mineral is mined.
The prime minister Kassim Majaliwa said this would boost the economy of the mining township in the semi-arid plains in Simanjiro district.
"Whoever wants to buy tanzanite should come to Mererani. Short of that , Mererani would lose its 'legacy' as the only source of tanzanite", he said on Wednesday.
The prime minister who had just inaugurated a Sh.1.3billion Magufuli Tanzanite Centre said shifting all trading to the site would enable Mererani to maximize earnings and its international visibility in tanzanite business.
Mr. Majaliwa said it was a pity that Mererani was not benefiting from the processing activities which, according to him, can stimulate the local economy.
He said there was ample land near the mining site for the investors from within and outside the country to put up requisite structures for value addition to the minerals.
The prime minister gave the directive at the mining town yesterday after inaugurating a Sh.1.3bilion facility put up to streamline mineral valuation processes at the site.
Mr. Majaliwa's directive followed appeals made by some mineral dealers and local politicians that Arusha city had unfairly taken over the lion's share of tanzanite trading.
It is in the city, some 65 kilometres from the mines,where the gemstone dealers had invested in posh homes, office blocks, hotels and other commercial enterprises.
He hinted that the measure can also assist in curbing smuggling of the rare mineral, mined nowhere in the world except Tanzania, through the neighbouring states.
The outspoken Simanjiro MP Christopher Ole Sendeka charged that Arusha city robbed Mererani of its cake in the multi-billion shilling tanzanite trade.
He told the PM that all value addition processes such as cutting, polishing and grading of tanzanite should be shifted to Mererani instead of Arusha city.
This, according to him, would provide jobs to hundreds of youth in the dusty town which has been impacted by the recent drop of the mineral prices in the world market.
The facility,named after the late President John Pombe Magufuli, would be a 'one stop centre' for valuation of the minerals by tax assessors, cutting, polishing and grading ready for export.
The lawmaker suggested that the Magufuli Tanzanite Centre should also cater for other minerals and gemstones like gold, diamonds and rugby.
A small-scale miner Samwel Rugemalira, while lauding the government for putting up the facility, pleaded for reduced electricity charges.
He said he was paying between Sh.8 million to 18million a month for electricity and that escalating charges have increased the cost of mining and reduced profit.
Elisha Laizer, the leader of gemstone brokers, said internal roads within the Mererani mines and adjacent township should also be upgraded.
He said the 24.5 kilometre perimeter road, constructed around the site in 2017 at the cost of Sh. 6billion was not enough to ease movement in the area.
It could not be established as to how the directive would be taken by a host of gemstone dealers who conduct most of their businesses in Arusha city.
Arusha city is also home to a regional mineral buying centre which was opened in June 2019 mainly to facilitate mineral buying and selling business.
Earlier the permanent secretary in the ministry of Mines Prof. Simon Msanjila said through a tight noose against mineral smuggling, earnings from the sector have increased tremendously.
According to him, the mineral sector earned the economy
Sh. 584billion in 2020/2021, nearly double from Sh.238 billion in 2016/2017.
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