Monday, August 25, 2014

Miner to pay district over billion in service levy annually

Tarime District Council Chairman, Amos Sagara
Over a billion shillings in service levy is to be paid to the Tarime District Council annually by the giant miner African Barrick Gold (ABG) proprietors of the North Mara mine.
 
Tarime District Council Chairman Amos Sagara made the announcement over the weekend at a public rally in the border town of Sirari.
 
 “The funds will be directed to preplanned specific use in line with the council’s priority investment areas…we are looking to increase and improve social services,” he said.
 
He mentioned some of the priority areas to include completion of classrooms in all 34 ward secondary schools in the district along with the construction of dispensaries in villages that suffer poor health services.
 
''We will also use the funds to complete the construction of a girls' dormitory at Borega High School...we are directing our efforts to boost girl child education,” he added.
 
As part of its corporate responsibility, the gold mining firm also donated an x-ray machine estimated to value over 100m/- to the Tarime District Hospital that serves over 200 outpatients revealed the hospital's medical officer in-charge Marco Nega in an interview with this paper.
 
District Council Chairman Sagara said the exemplified social development efforts by the miner will go a long way to reduce periodic but persistent trespassing into the mine area by disgruntled villagers who fear corporate abuse of resources with impunity.
 
ABG which last year reported production of 256,732 ounces from their open pit mine in the district that is estimated to have a life span of over ten years has also received several proposals from the District Council including one for a youth employment project centered around entrepreneurship and empowerment of small scale miners.
 
“If we create jobs for the youth, incidents of mine intrusion will be reduced and eventually ended…it’s a win-win situation for the investor and locals,'' Tarime District Council Chairman Sagara said.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

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