The Parliamentary Committee on the Budget, which last week toured Mara region, has praised the Barrick North Mara Gold Mine for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) role in improving the lives of adjacent communities.
Through CSR, the mine is credited to have dished out billions of shillings to finance social services in such sectors as education, health, water, roads and supporting economic activities of the population in nearby villages.
Statistics show that the North Mara Gold Mine annually spends not less than 7bn/- to support community development projects in 11 villages in the neighbourhood.
The legislators visited the Tarime-based mine to get first-hand information on its operations and its accountability to community welfare.
Committee vice-chairman Josephat Kandege said at the end of their visit that it was a success story in that it has enabled them to get acquainted with the mine’s operations and the way surrounding communities benefit from various projects being executed to improve their wellbeing.
“We’ve had a rare opportunity of knowing how the mine works and how the management connects with nearby communities in implementing development projects. A clear example is the implementation of a water project for four villages which now enjoy clean and safe drinking water,” said Kandege, the legislator of Kalambo Constituency in Rukwa region.
The teams of legislators was equally overjoyed by the mine’s local content aspect in which the majority employees (96 per cent) are Tanzanians, including the general manager.
They also commended the mine management for compliance in the payment of relevant taxes as a major contribution to the national income.
Speaking at the same occasion, Special Seats legislator, Stella Ikupa Alex, praised Barrick for its enviable sectoral performance which has enabled it to accumulate various prestigious awards, including the Best Employer.
“You’ve won many awards; let me praise you. Your CSR role is hugely perceived,” she said.
Earlier, briefing the Paliamentary Committee on the mine’s activities, General Manager Apolinary Lyambiko said through CSR 15 million US dollars have been spent to finance community development projects.
He said apart from funding CSR projects Barrick also pays various taxes such as service levy to the Tarime District Council and royalty to five villages near the mine.
He said Barrick has succeeded in increasing the mine’s life-span from 2028 to 2040. “Tremendous changes have taken place at the North Mara Gold Mine to warrant increase of its life-span to 20240 from 2028,” he explained.
Similarly, he said the increase of the life-span of the Bulyanhulu Gold Mine in Kahama district, Shinyanga region, is also under consideration. “We’re still doing research on the issues,’’ he expained.
He said since 2029 when Barrick took over the running of the North Mara Gold Mine, there had been remarkable investment in environmental conservation in the area.
North Mara Gold Mine is a joint venture between the Barrick and the Tanzania government through a subsidiary firm, Twiga Minerals.
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