The Manda Gold Mine, owned by women under the leadership of Asha Msangi, has contributed 800 million shillings to the Government's revenue for the 2024/2025 financial year.
The mine, mostly run by women, is located in Mwime Village, Zongamela Ward, Kahama. It holds a small-scale mining license and provides jobs to over 200 young people.
In an interview, Asha Msangi, who owns the mine and is the Chairperson of women miners there, shared her story: "Before starting mining, I ran small businesses. I had a small shop and later sold rice in Arusha. However, the business was tough, so I decided to switch to mining.
"I started working in other people’s mines, learned a lot, and then applied for a mining license. I was given one as a trial, and it went well. Now, I own 12 licenses, and I have started working with women’s groups to mine together," Asha explained.
Leons Welengeile, the Resident Mining Officer of Kahama, said the Manda Mine is an important part of the community and provides jobs for many young people and women through its operations.
"For the 2024/2025 financial year, from July 2024 to February 2025, Manda Mine has contributed 810 million shillings to the Government’s revenue through mining fees and inspection charges.
This does not include additional collections by the local government and the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA)," said Leons. He added, "We trust women and continue to create opportunities for them."
Leons also mentioned that the Government's revenue in the Kahama Mining Region has grown each year. In 2022/2023, the total revenue was 97 billion shillings, and in 2023/2024, it was 101 billion shillings.
By March 2025, 88.08 billion shillings is expected to have been collected, which is 85% of the target for the first nine months of the year.
Leons believes that with the current progress, they will meet the revenue goal by the end of the year.