Tarime — THE NORTH
Mara mine operating in Nyamongo township in Tarime District has set
aside 5.7bn/- for the implementation of a number of community
development projects in 11 villages
surrounding the mine.
The mine, through
the community sustainability department, has spearheaded a project that
has managed to establish village based development committees right from
the grassroots level engaging the whole community in areas of
implementations.
The North Mara
Sustainable Communities Manager Richard Ojendo, told a gathering in
Nyamongo that brought together stakeholders from all villages as well as
representatives from the Tarime District Council over the week that the
projects will be implemented in the 2019/20 fiscal year.
The projects,
according to Mr Ojendo, include a ten-kilometer road that will be built
to tarmac level right from the mine's headquarters to Kerende village
that will ease movement of people as well as goods in and around the
mining location.
"We have also
encouraged youth from the nearest locations to form village-based
self-help groups where they can access simple loans with zero interest
so that they can engage in income generating projects and avoid criminal
activities", Mr Ojendo said.
He said last year,
the mine gave about 900m/- to the youth, women as well as the disabled
to enable them start small scale income generating activities by
utilising the vicinity of the mining potential.
He said as of now
incidents of mine invasion in search of gold sands had been reduced
while the mine was engaging in discussions with the surrounding
community whereby all projects that are being implemented were
identified through local village gatherings.
Mr Ojendo revealed
that over the past years, the mine had also implemented projects that
include construction and rehabilitation of several lower and upper
schools to which local communities can enrol their children in a
reliable and conducive environment.
"This year we have
focused on improving our relationships with both the communities around
our mine and with the government, and as part of this, we have engaged
more actively with the community, the media and with our stakeholders
with the aim of becoming a partner of choice and to ensure that the
surrounding communities benefit from our activities," he said.
He said much
emphasis was put on investing in communities through Village Benefit
Implementation Agreements, which provide for specific investments at
North Mara to fulfill legacy commitments and also stressing that
relationships with the government was a key area of focus and progress
during the ongoing implementation year.
Lately, the North
Mara mine has been strengthening relationships with the central
government whereby pundits now believe the relationship is significantly
stronger than in the past.
This is
demonstrated by the improvement in the critical areas in which several
laws were enacted to protect the interests of the government on a winwin
situation.
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