Africa-Press – Tanzania. Barrick’s North Mara Mine has announced that 20 companies will participate in its Local Business Development Programme to be implemented by Kengo Consulting and the College of Business Education (CBE).
The selected companies are from sectors along the mining value chains such as construction, environment and agri-business.
The objective of the programme is to strengthen the capabilities of local businesses to take advantage of opportunities in the mining sector.
President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said the program was a further demonstration of Barrick’s commitment to developing local capabilities.
“Since we began operating the mine, we have been engaging the communities around our operations by working on a local supplier strategy to advance local content and create sustainable economic opportunities for the surrounding and broader national economy,” he said.
To date, Barrick has invested 73 per cent of its total spend with local companies, of which 44 per cent being with local businesses.
A key community focus is to invest in sustainable economic development and the programme will contribute substantially to this.
“The Local Business Development programme will be a game-changer in the mining sector supply chain and we expect the capacity of participating enterprises to improve significantly and exploit the opportunities in the value chain,” he said.
The government developed the local content policy primarily targeting the mining, oil and gas sectors in 2015 to ensure that mineral extraction and revenues benefit Tanzanians.
The policy and subsequent regulations aim to foster economic diversification and business linkages within the country’s economy enhance job creation through encouraging the development of local expertise.
The sector’s contribution to the economy is forecast to reach 10 per cent of the GDP by 2025.
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