THE Ministry of Energy and Minerals has launched the Online Mining Cadastre Transactional Portal (OMCTP) to provide an electronic platform for all stakeholders in the mining sector in Tanzania to engage directly with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.

The portal will enable miners to apply, make payments and do all related activities online to improve ministry’s service delivery and increase transparency in the mineral sector.

The Assistant Commissioner for Minerals in the Ministry, Mr John Nayopa said the launch of the OMCTP system is to facilitate application for licenses of mining, verification of owned licenses information and to send work performance report.

He said the system begun to be used this month and mining officers were providing assistance to customers who need instruction on the use of the system. The Ministry ensures consumers about the safety of their money when they make payments through the system, he said.

“Through the OMCTP system now customers can make payments of their licenses fee through mobile banking, Maxmalipo, electronic banking cards, Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), also the system enable customers to find maps of various geological and mineral data,” Mr Nayopa told reporters in Dar es Salaam.

According to him, in order to access and continuous use the networking license service, the customers are reminded to make sure they register themselves in the mining offices.

Registration of prospecting license and retention licenses, Special mining licenses and mining license is done at the headquarters of the Ministry. He said until recently the Ministry have successful registered 8,800 licenses of minerals under the OMCTP system.

Mr Nayopa said among the registered licenses, the number of licenses for exploration of minerals is 5,919 and applications are 117 licensing of mineral extraction is 111 and 9 applications, active licenses of small-scale mining is 2, 595 and 557 applications.

“Total of 370 active Companies have registered and a number of customers who are waiting for verification of their application through emails are 458,” he said.

He said the goals of the OMCTP system is to maintain transparency in the process of providing licenses, to decrease the congestion of applications for licenses in the mining offices, to facilitate easy availability of information on payments of licenses.