Barrick North Mara Mine has officially launched its Community Relations Week, a robust initiative aimed at strengthening the company’s relationship with surrounding communities.
Dubbed “Good Relations for Sustainable Investment,” the week is expected to be featuring various community-based activities, including sports, and will bring together residents from the 11 villages surrounding the mine to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the mine and neighbouring communities.
The week will also provide an opportunity to educate residents about the mine’s operations and the negative consequences of young people engaging in illegal intrusion into the mine site.
Such incidents disrupt production activities and can result in revenue losses for local authorities, the district, the region and the nation, while also affecting the implementation of community social development programmes under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and regulations.
The initiative, formerly known as the Mahusiano Cup youth football tournament, provides an opportunity for mine management and employees to interact with members of the surrounding communities through various sporting activities.
The official launch took place on Saturday at Ingwe Secondary School grounds, a few kilometres from the mine in Tarime District, Mara Region, as part of efforts to further strengthen community engagement.
The inaugural relations week will bring together residents from all 11 villages surrounding Barrick North Mara mine through various sporting activities, including jogging, with the aim of promoting health and well-being of mine employees, young people, women and the wider community.
Speaking at the official launch, Barrick North Mara General Manager, Mr Stephen Doyle said the relations week was important in strengthening dialogue and mutual understanding between the mine and surrounding communities.
He said the initiative would provide a crucial platform for the mine to listen to challenges facing residents and work together with them to identify appropriate solutions.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the District Commissioner and all district and Tarime council leaders for joining and supporting us during this important week as we continue strengthening our relationship with the communities surrounding the mine,” Doyle said.
He observed that maintaining effective communication and strong relations between the mine and the 11 surrounding villages was essential to improving productivity in mining and mineral production activities in the area.
Doyle said the week would also promote sports as a means of improving participants’ health while fostering mutual relations and understanding between the mine and the community.
“It provides an opportunity for leaders and the mine to discuss how to live peacefully with these 11 villages, while also educating one another about the mine’s operations and the benefits they bring to the community, the region and the country as a whole,” he said.
He added that the initiative would enable residents to better understand the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and regulations, as well as the benefits arising from such programmes.
Doyle said sports could create employment and income-generating opportunities, promote individual development and contribute to broader social and economic progress.
He urged residents to make good use of the opportunity provided by the Relations Week and continue participating in the scheduled activities.
Mine Warns Against Illegal Intrusion
Doyle said Barrick North Mara had accepted a proposal previously submitted by the Community Development Committee (CDC) for the construction of a football pitch.
He said the mine had already purchased the land and was awaiting the issuance of a title deed before construction could begin.
He said the facility would also provide an opportunity for mine officials, community leaders, parents and Nyamongo residents to educate young people about the growing problem of illegal intrusion into the mine site.
Doyle described the practice of young people entering the mine’s licensed areas in an attempt to extract gold illegally as dangerous and detrimental to mining and production activities at North Mara.
“Intrusion into our mine areas affects production activities. It also means there will be no revenue for the council, district, region and the country as a whole because of illegal entry and mining within areas licensed to North Mara,” he said.
He said illegal intrusion into Barrick North Mara’s licensed areas would not only disrupt production but could also affect the availability of funds for CSR programmes.
DC Calls For Stronger Mine-Community Cooperation
Speaking at the event, Tarime District Commissioner Major Edward Gowele said the Relations Week was not only an opportunity to launch various sporting activities for Nyamongo residents and promote healthy lifestyles, but also an important platform for strengthening community safety and relations with Barrick North Mara.
“The launch of this Community Relations Week is very important and a major event for bringing people together and promoting understanding and cooperation across all 11 villages,” Major Gowele said.
He added that the initiative would help strengthen cooperation between the mine and surrounding communities while promoting solidarity and ensuring that the major investment delivers broader benefits to the community and the nation as a whole.
Gowele said illegal intrusion into the mine’s licensed areas could not be tolerated, as it would affect the mine’s daily operations and potentially reduce gold production.
He noted that, through its CSR policies and guidelines, Barrick North Mara had implemented and continued to implement various development projects in areas including health, education and infrastructure, while also supporting the growth of local value chains and industrial development.
CDC Hails Relations Week
For his part, Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairman and Councillor Rashid Bugomba described the Relations Week initiative as a unique bridge connecting Nyamongo residents and those from surrounding hamlets with Barrick North Mara.
He said the initiative would further strengthen cooperation between the community and the mine in the broader interests of the country.
Bugomba urged all 11 villages to actively participate in the Relations Week, saying the activities would provide residents with an opportunity to improve their health through various sporting activities, including the Mahusiano Cup.
Mine to visit all 11 villages
Barrick North Mara Community Relations Manager Francis Uhadi said the Relations Week provided a unique opportunity for mine employees and residents from all 11 surrounding villages to participate in various sporting activities aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles.
He said the initiative was also important in ensuring continued community engagement and helping residents understand the mine’s operations, its benefits to surrounding communities and the principles and policies governing CSR programmes.
“There will be various sports and competitions, and winners will receive prizes. We will also visit all 11 villages surrounding our mine to provide education and strengthen relations with the communities,” Uhadi said.
During the launch, Barrick North Mara mine officials, the District Commissioner and Tarime District Council leaders participated in a short road race.
Throughout the Relations Week, Nyamongo residents and those from surrounding hamlets will have an opportunity to participate in various sporting activities, including football. Next Sunday, Nyamongo FC will face Tarime FC in one of the scheduled football matches.