The Land Factor in Mining Gold Reserves in Tanzania

by Furaha Lugoe
SAIIA Policy Briefing No 34, July 2011
Download - English [.pdf]

Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme

In the early 1990s the discovery of large quantities of gold deposits in the Lake Victoria Basin of Tanzania seemed to be the long-awaited candle to light the way to economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic indices in gold production are good, but challenges abound. Land tenure conflicts contradict national aspirations embedded in the new land policy and pose a real challenge to mainstreaming customary tenure. A clear focus on building strong institutions, merging the land and mining cadastres, empowering artisanal and small-scale miners and making strides towards an industry owned by residents will make a difference in attaining national priority outcomes.