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To ensure
that the nation’s minerals and metal sector contributes
significantly to the national economy through its mining
activities, the Federal Government had set up a Committee on
Revenue Generation for the sector.
The Minister of Mines and
Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada while
inaugurating the Committee said the nation’s minerals and
metal sector needed to focus on revenue generation in order
to contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of the country.
Arc. Sada decried the
current deplorable level of revenue generation in the
nation’s minerals and metal sector, stressing the need for
it to be improved.
The Minister who was also
disturbed by the spate of illegal mining in the country with
its resultant effects on the level of revenue generation in
the minerals and metal sector, tasked members of the
committee on revenue generation to address and find a
lasting solution to the problem.
In the words of the Minister
“The current level of revenue generation can and must be
improved upon, make sure that all revenues are collected, we
need to put things right”.
He said the Federal
Government would ensure proper monitoring of activities of
mining operators and construction companies so that all
revenues accruable to the Federal Government coffers from
their operations are adequately remitted in line with the
laid down regulatory framework of the sector.
He disclosed that the
present administration was considering the restructuring and
rationalization of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of
government, he therefore charged all professionals in the
Ministry and its agencies to be proactive in addressing all
militating problems facing the sector so as to achieve its
mandate of transforming the nation’s economy.
Arc. Sada said the Committee
on Revenue Generation has the mandate to give a holistic
attention to revenue generation in the nation’s minerals and
metal sector as well as ascertain areas of revenue leakages
and proffer solutions.
The Minister also charged
members of the committee to turn in clear and far reaching
recommendations that would increase the revenue generation
capacity of the sector and those recommendations would be
carefully considered and implemented.
The Committee on Revenue
Generation which has three (3) weeks from the day of
inauguration to submit their final report has the following
Terms of Reference to work with:
To identify all revenue
sources
To identify the payers
across the nation
To determine the revenue
assessment criteria
To determine the
modalities for the collection
To ensure that all
revenues due to government are correctly assessed and dully
collected
To ensure that all
collected revenues are fully accounted for and remitted
To draw up guidelines on
revenue collection, recording and reporting; and
To use FCT Mines office to
sample the mode of operation of the approved guidelines
The Chairman of the
Committee on Revenue Generation and Deputy Director,
Accounts in the Ministry, Malam Sani Garba, who responded on
behalf of members of the committee thanked the Minister for
the opportunity given them to serve in the committee; he
promised that the committee would leave no stone unturned in
delivering their mandates for the development of the
minerals and metal sector of the country. |
