President Magufuli threatens to shut mines if firms delay tax talks

Tanzanian President John Magufuli

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has threatened to close down all gold mines in the country if mining companies delay talks with his government aimed at resolving allegations of tax evasion.

The announcement by Magufuli, nicknamed “the Bulldozer” for his forceful leadership style, marks a further escalation of a dispute with foreign companies like Acacia Mining over export revenues.

“We have asked them to come for talks... they have agreed to come. But if they delay those talks, I will close down all the mines,” Magufuli told a cheering crowd at a public rally in the north-western town of Kigoma.

Magufuli has sent shock-waves through the mining community in Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer since his election late in 2015 with a series of actions he says are aimed at ensuring that mining companies pay a fair share of taxes.

The government has accused Acacia Mining, the country’s biggest gold miner, of evading taxes worth billions of dollars by under-declaring export volumes and the value of its minerals. Acacia denies the allegations.

[Reuters]