The State Minister for Minerals, Peter Lokeris, has said the government is in the process of considering gazetting construction materials such as sand and murrum as minerals to generate revenue.
While appearing before Parliament’s Natural Resources Committee yesterday, Lokeris said the government wants to regulate the extraction and export of the resources by foreign-based companies.
The minister was presenting proposals that the government wants to effect in the Mining and Minerals Bill, 2021, which is currently under scrutiny by the committee chaired by Dr Emmanuel Otaala (West Budama South).
His response followed inquiries from Ms Flora Natumanya (Kikuube Woman), and Mr Otaala about what the government would do to reduce the rate at which sand deposits are being exploited.