Lyn Frans
An unexpected shortage of raw salt in factories at the Pwani region of Mkuranga, Tanzania,has triggered significant production disruptions. This prompted the Ministry of Minerals through its Permanent Secretary Kheri Mahimbali to as a matter of urgency appeal to raw salt producers to come to their rescue.
The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Kheri Mahimbali accompanied by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade Hashil Abdallah and other experts from the two ministries recently visited the Neel salt production factory, a facility managed by Kneelkant Group Africa. The factory reported a complete depletion of raw materials, resulting in an immediate halt in production.
“We call upon all people who have raw salt to bring to the company as it is only left with 500 tonnes of the raw material which will be sufficient for only a day. The demand is high we have come here to assess the real situation on the ground… the factory needs raw material so that it can proceed with production,” Mahimbali said.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Dr Hashil Abdallah assures government support to ensure that investors and traders are conducting their businesses without any hurdles to safeguard employment for Tanzanians who have been employed in the factories but also the government get its share of revenue through taxes for both parties to benefit from the investment.
“We held a meeting between the government, factory owner and producers we have agreed to provide one month for the owner of the factory and the producers of raw salt to discuss better ways of proceeding with business, the raw salt to continue being sold to the factory … so anyone with the raw material should bring here the factory will purchase so that it can proceed with production and protect the employment of Tanzanians,” said Dr Abdullah.
On his part, the factory General Manager Ahmed Said Ahmed said that the factory has employed 500 workers and it produces 600 tonnes of salt per day thus the demand for raw salt is very high. “We call upon producers of raw salt to bring the raw material to the factory noting that the company is ready to buy any amount which will be brought at the factory.”
Speaking on behalf of Tanzania Salt Producers Association (TASPA) Treasurer Aboud Noordin Hussein the amount of raw salt currently available is sufficient to meet industrial needs noting that they are ready to sell the raw material to the factory.
