DAR ES SALAAM: TWIGA Minerals, a partnership between Barrick Gold Corporation and Tanzania, contributes 51 per cent of the country’s mining sector revenue.
Barrick’s Country Manager, Melkiory Ngido, unveiled this on Wednesday when presenting the gold miner performance at the ongoing three-day Mining Investment Conference in Dar es Salaam.
“The partnership through Twiga Minerals showcases how the government can effectively collaborate with the private sector for the benefit of the nation, as evidenced by the various successes since its establishment,” he said.
According to the latest report from the Tanzania Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TEITI), this partnership demonstrates how public-private partnerships can achieve major successes citing the 51 per cent currently revenue contributions leading others in the mining sector.
He said this makes Barrick the leading contributor to the national revenue through taxes and other government fees in the mining sector, thus supporting the country’s economic growth.
Mr Ngido explained that in addition to contributing to the national revenue, the partnership has also created employment opportunities for Tanzanians, driven significant social projects through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy, particularly in sectors like roads, healthcare, water and education.
It has also boosted the local economy by supporting the local suppliers who provide various goods to Barrick’s mines at North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi.
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“A point of pride is that the majority of workers at Barrick and Twiga mines are locals and the operations are led by Tanzanians,” he said.
Mr Ngido also discussed how Barrick is collaborating with the government on a unique project aimed at enhancing the future of education in the country— the ‘Barrick-Twiga Future Forward Education.’ This initiative is focused on improving the infrastructure of public secondary schools, particularly at the advanced level, to increase the number of students who can continue their education despite infrastructure challenges, while ensuring they study in conducive environments.
The project, which is expected to cost 70.5bn/- , is funded by Barrick and aims to build 1,090 classrooms, 1,640 latrine buildings and 270 dormitories in 161 schools across the country.
The first phase of the project has been completed. In the first phase, the project has expanded infrastructure at 64 schools, worth approximately 10 million US dollars, including the construction of about 396 classrooms, 97 dormitories and 600 latrine buildings.
The second phase of the project started in the fourth quarter of this year with another 10 million US dollars investment, followed by the third phase of the same value.
