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{
    "id": 933547,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/933547/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 337,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Zani",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13119,
        "legal_name": "Agnes Zani",
        "slug": "agnes-zani"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, allow me to start by congratulating Sen. Poghisio for attending the meeting. He was one of the Members of the delegation to the 3rd Statutory Meeting of the Committee on Economic Development, Regional Integration and Natural Resources of the FP-ICGLR. From the outset, not only were there theoretic aspects that were covered, but also very specific deliverables came from various activities. I noted that even before the main conference started, the delegation went to view a mineral processing plant. From that experience, they picked up some pertinent issues. Most issues that face members of the Great Lakes Region are the same. They have taken the same path to address most of the issues, especially those to do with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, they have the same experience about conflict in the region and lack of economic progress. The meeting was meant to have at least 12 member states. Unfortunately, it happened at a time when we had the catastrophic accident of the Ethiopian Airline crash. Therefore, only six member states attended. It is very commendable that among the six member states, our own Sen. Poghisio was among those who came up with good recommendations and ideas that when implemented can put these countries at another level. One of the observations is that we are not short of ideas. Enough legislation and policies have been passed, but the problem is the implementation. The policies should take us to the next level to enable us address issues of natural resources. Following the excursion trip to Gakara Rare Earth Project, the challenge is the way analysis is made. It is important to identify problems and bring them to the fore. One of the issues that came out clearly, which is in this Report, is the cost of the minerals. For example, in this particular project, they are unable to separate the concentrate into its 17 elements. If they could do that, it would be valued at USD10,000 per tonne. However, since they are unable to do that, they sell at USD3,000 per tonne. This seems to be our fate because many African countries have minerals, but are unable to add value to them. This should be a wakeup call. We are talking about profit being cut buy almost a third. If we could separate the concentrate of the rare earth to 17 elements, the value would be three times more. That means other economies come in to process and gain two-thirds more than the people where the natural resources are. This is a sad state of affairs. It brings to the fore The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}