It now nearly a month since Petra Diamonds Limited (Petra) - a mining company with operations in South Africa, Angola, Botswana, and Sierra Leone - announced that it had acquired a 75 per cent stake in Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL) at Mwadui.

Petra said on September 9 that it had entered into an agreement with De Beers, of South Africa, to acquire the stake, and paid $10 million in cash.

For the Government to come out now raising concern over the manner in which the deal was concluded, leaves a lot to be desired.

Why did it take so long for Energy and Minerals minister William Ngereja to come up with this "clarification", telling Tanzanians that WDL has not sold its shares to Petra?

It is actions like these, which entrench the general feeling in the public that the mining industry more of a rip-off than anything else. If what Minister Ngeleja is saying is true, why on earth would an investor ignore a clause requiring it to consult with another shareholder with a view to either allowing the latter to buy the shares or agreeing to the sale, and take a whole month to comment on the issue?

This is very serious. Minister Ngeleja should be reminded that he is handling a sector that is too important for him to allow such a snail's-pace-approach to a crucial national issue.