EFFORTS by the government to address concerns over an apparent drop in tanzanite prices, by citing disorderly production and sales management look sufficiently ambitious.

However, they could prove somewhat too limited to surmount the scale of the problem, not of the prices per se but price setting, and relocating those who gain the money to local traders – not foreign buyers. The sector minister has lately launched a comprehensive strategy at Mererani in Manyara Region meant to revive the tanzanite trade and restore the rare blue-violet gemstone's premium global standing. Could the ‘trick’ work? Time will tell.

One explanation given for the rather vast effort is the need to protect the gemstone’s value, derived from its rarity and careful control of supply and final prices, largely controlled by outside buyers.Such efforts are valuable for the host country but are viewed negatively by private dealers who dominate tanzanite trade worldwide.

These hold the brands for each specialised product as tanzanite is a decoration like gold or diamond and, unlike these others, it has no industrial use.As such, tanzanite’s shifting trade dynamics is somewhat more volatile, but relative scarcity assures its value – and that is precisely where the government’s plans are focused, even to redraw trade structures.

There is wide admission around the world that our country is by and large short-changed on the mineral’s value, not by sheer artistry or deception but merely courtesy of industry and trade dynamics, and altering these structures is easier said than done.

Market restructuring demands that those trusted by the final buyers actually buy property here and become part of the country’s financial system, as it were – as substantive holders of land, bank deposits and real estate.

One doesn’t just polish and sell, as that would still count as raw material since what is sold in key markets isn’t just polished stones but some design product.Online sources affirm that, historically, a significant portion of the tanzanite trade value leaked out of Tanzania to foreign cutting and resale hubs, especially India.

It is said that 2024, for instance, saw India export four times the value of tanzanite compared to Tanzania itself. Any country would find such data such a bitter pill that, with its widening industrial and financial capacity, it might seek to go one better to substitute industry for its raw material role. While in and by itself Tanzania might not soon become a major tanzanite market, it can attract processors.

There may be plans to reclaim control of trading through international auctions and local processing initiatives, mostly meant to retain more value within the country. Wee and good. However, what might matter more is what is sold to final consumers, if it needs reprocessing and indeed if it is the relevant brand.

That is why opening up the area as a special economic zone where local small miners can sell shares on land with potential deposits for whatever sums the market can muster could be a credible alternative.