Sijaweka ushabiki wa kisiasa hapa. Miradi kama hii ambayo inaweza geuza kabisa uchumi wa nchi huwa inapata upinzani mwingi sana. Niliandika kwenye jukwaa la great thinkers jinsi US ilivyomzuia mjapan kumuuzia Korea Kaskazini kinu cha kufua chuma. Alijua umuhimu wa chuma kwa nchi.
Hapa kwetu mtu anaweza pinga kwa ajenda mbalimbali. Labda ni mkenya hataki Tanzania iwe na chuma, Labda ni msauzi anaogopa upinzani sokoni nk. Wazo la ubishani wa kisiasa halikuwepo kabisa.
Chuma hata usikiingize kwenye kucompare na uwekezaji mwingine kwenye ishu za opportunity cost. Chuma ni kama elimu, hospitali, barabara, madaraja na vitu vingine vya msingi kwa nchi. Hii siyo bidhaa tu ya kuuza na kununua, ni kitu cha msingi kama elimu na afya. Inatakiwa kufanya kila njia kuwa nayo.
Unafikiri kwanini wachina wako tayari kutoa Ore Njombe, kusafirisha mpaka Mtwara kupakia kwenye meli mpaka uchina? Unafikiri imeweza kuwa mzalishaji namba moja duniani kihivihivi?. Kama yeye ameweza kusafirisha chuma toka Brazil, SA na Australia na anaona kuna faida, sisi tunashindwa nini kuchimba na kusafisha hapo hapo?
Ndugu kujifananisha na China kwenye soko la chuma ni sawa na mbingu na ardhi; sio Tanzania tu nchi yeyote duniani.
China ananunua 60% ya iron ore inayochimbwa duniani na wachimbaji wote wakubwa wa iron ore mteja wanaemtegemea ni mchina (matter of fact yeye ndio ana influence flactuation ya iron ore market price, based on their annual demand).
China ana umeme wa kutosha wa bei nafuu kupunguza gharama za uzalishaji, ana advanatages za huge economies of scales kwenye resources mobilisation na kwenye kuzalisha final product.
Ana soko kubwa la bidhaa zake duniani haya ma sky-scrapers yanayokwenda angani kupitiliza yanatengenezwa kuhimili earth quakes na makash makash mengine nature inayoweza yatupia; chuma kinachotumiwa sijui kinatakiwa kuchanganywa na mineral gani kiwe stable zaidi, kuna wengine kwenye madaraja makubwa wanataka vyuma strong ila vinauwezo wa ku sway, huko kwenye offshore rigs nao wana specifications zao; mchina ndio mwenye technology and cheaper cost za ku meet a variety of design specification na ndiye anae supply chuma kwenye miradi mikubwa mingi duniani including US and EU.
Ana uwezo wa kuja africa kutafuta tender za ujenzi utakaoitaji chuma, akazikopesha nchi za Africa zisizo na uwezo wa kifedha, akajipa yeye tender na akatekeleza hiyo miradi kwa kutumia chuma kutoka kwao.
Juzi kwenye mkutano na waziri wa china ulimskia Magufuli akisema in the past 10 years kampuni za kichina zimepata tender za almost $10 billion kutokana na miradi waliyofanya Tanzania.
Back to the point investment ya kuchimba iron ore is capital intensive na viwanda vinavyofuata i.e at secondary and tertiary level na vyenyewe ni expensive to build and to run. Sasa uwezi kusema utajenga tu without showing the investment appraisal ata hao S.A wenye reserve ya chuma zaidi yetu wanauza more iron ore to China than what they use to produce for their own markets, US wenye reserve ya billion tonnes of iron ore (many times more than what we have) pamoja na viwanda vya chuma wananunua kutoka China for the most part.
Haya mambo ni easier Said than done once you start crunching the numbers on investment return.