FG laments loss of revenue in illegal mining

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

The Federal Government, yesterday, lamented that the nation is losing a lot of revenues  through illegal mining, saying the royalty regime for the mining companies should be reviewed.

Chairman of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Bello Shehu, expressed the displeasure  at  this year’s Mining Week organised by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) in Abuja. He  said that the host communities’ active participation in artisanal and small-scale mining is very alarming.

Shehu, in a statement, noted that the host communities carry out  illegal mining activities in collaboration with foreign partners by smuggling out minerals out of the country, a situation that  makes it difficult for the government to regulate the sector. The chairman  further informed that in the process of the commission carrying out its constitutional roles of monitoring accruals  and disbursing  revenue from the federation account, it discovered that other challenges leading to colossal loss of government’s revenue generation from the sector are as a result of both informal and non-documentation of mining activities in the country. He also stated that in its effort to generate more revenues from the mining sector into the federation account, RMAFC has been actively involved in the proper development of the sector.