‘To enhance ease of doing business’ — FG hikes mining dues, rates by 50%

Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, says the federal government has increased the dues and rates paid by operators in the mining sector.

Alake, who spoke in Abuja on Thursday during a press conference, said the government increased 286 rate regimes, ranging from 50 to 100 percent.

The minister said compliance with the new dues and rates begins immediately and warned that defaulters would have their licenses revoked.

He explained that the review was necessary due to the amount of funds that operators remitted to the government coffers.

Alake said the new rates and dues would enable the ministry to enhance the ease of doing business in the sector.

He noted that relevant stakeholders were involved in deciding the new rates, adding that all parties unanimously accepted the increase.

“It is therefore equitable that those who use these services to invest in the mining sector and make profits from it should be on the frontlines of the government’s efforts to recoup rather than pass it on to poor Nigerians,” Alake said.

“Thus, in line with the powers conferred on me by the Mining and Minerals Act 2007, I set up a committee of the directors of departments and directors-general of agencies under the ministry and charged them with the mandate to work out new rates to justify governments’ investment in the service infrastructure and to cope with the expected meteoric spike in the traffic of applicants besieging the regulatory machinery.

“Today we are taking a significant step in our efforts to implement the seven-point agenda to reposition the sector and international competitiveness by announcing a new regime of rates and charges for various services, departments, and agencies.

“This is given by qualitative measures and technological capacity upgrades implemented in recent times to raise the level of technical efficiency, improve the traffic of transactions, and cope with business interest.”