Sneak-peak at PPP’s plans… Irfaan Ali signals removal of major gold taxes; $2B annually for hinterland roads

Jul 28, 2019 News

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is aggressively moving into elections mode, already signaling what it wants to include in its manifesto.

PPP’s Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, has signaled widespread overhaul of the gold industry when elected.

According to Presidential Candidate of the party, Irfaan Ali, one of the big areas that he is targeting for revamp will be the struggling gold industry.
“Many players in the field have been complaining not only about the deteriorating conditions of the roads but also of increasing taxes,” Ali disclosed on Friday.
Among other things, he is promising under his Government, as President, to remove the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on hinterland travel and freight to benefit not only mining sector but residents and communities.
“We have intention to remove the fees imposed by this Government to sell gold and remove the sliding scale imposed and replace with a simple two percent final tax.”
For machinery and equipment, the former Housing Minister said that the VAT will no longer be charged.
“Perhaps one of the biggest issues we want to address, based on the complaints, will be better roads. That is why we support easier transport for the mining, forestry and communities by reducing travel time and cost. We will do this by investing a minimum of $2B annually to support hinterland roads.”
With regards to the making available more mining lands, Ali said that it is the intention to establish a fairer and more equitable system.
“Miners and other stakeholders have been burdened by onerous documentation required. We want production. We want to make it easier by reducing the burden.”
According to Ali, the mining sector is in a rapid state of decline as a result of poor Government policies and little intervention in infrastructure leading to higher cost of transportation and increased cost of production.
“The burdensome taxes have negatively affected recapitalisation and have increased transactional cost. The removal of incentives that brought cost savings to miners and hinterland communities has served to further erode the strides our administrations would have made.”
According to the PPP official, the leakages from smuggled gold and favouritism in the distribution of mining properties and claims have also contributed to place the biggest foreign currency earner on a decline that has to be halted with actions.
“The neglect, mismanagement and corruption are beyond believable. Our government has been paying attention to the gold contributions and promise that like before, our attention will remain in ensuring the miners have a right to smile. The gold price is currently over US$1,400 per ounce. We need to capitalise and manage properly.”