Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Barrick: We’re Tanzania’s largest contributor of govt revenue in 2021
Barrick Gold Corporation said Sunday that through its North Mara Gold Mine the company is the largest contributor to government revenue in 2021, making it a key partner in the socio-economic development of Tanzania.
President and chief executive Mark Bristow said in a statement yesterday that since the company took control of North Mara and Bulyanhulu in September 2019, its total in-country investment has totalled $1.995 billion.
In the first half of this year, it has paid $158 million in taxes, royalties and levies, $42 million in distributions to the Government of Tanzania in the form of dividends and shareholder loans as well as $210 million to local suppliers, the statement said. It has also now paid $140 million of its $300 million settlement with the government.
“When we took over these mines they were a moribund burden on the government and their investors,” Mr Bristow was quoted as saying. “In a very short time, we redesigned and re-engineered them, creating what are in effect two new mines.”
He pointed out that these mines are now well placed to deliver their annual production guidance and have the potential to achieve a combined Tier One status in Barrick’s portfolio, meaning that they are capable of producing at least 500,000 ounces of gold annually for more than 10 years at the lower end of the cost spectrum as a combined complex.
“We are continuing to replace resources depleted by mining and we are targeting new opportunities as well, increasing our footprint around Bulyanhulu through the acquisition of six highly prospective licences,” Bristow added. “We’re also updating the geological models in the North Mara region and identifying potential targets elsewhere in Tanzania.”
In line with Barrick’s policy of local employment, Tanzanian nationals now account for 96 per cent of the two mines’ workforces and 64 per cent of their senior management are Tanzanians. The mines are also driving the increased employment of women in a traditionally male-dominated industry through targeted recruitment and development programs.
Barrick has committed $6 for every ounce of gold sold by the two mines to improving healthcare, education, infrastructure and access to potable water in their communities. A further $70 million has been allocated to investment in value-adding national projects, including mining-related training and scientific facilities at Tanzanian universities.
Two young Tanzanians develop a game to promote Kiswahili
Two young Tanzanians, Ally Baharoon and Vanessa Linus have developed a new online Kiswahili literary game in what they think is part of the efforts to promote the use of Kiswahili, the language that is exponentially growing worldwide.
Called Fumbeno, the game was inspired by the English word puzzle, Wordle, with project leader Baharoon, an English Literature graduate, telling The Chanzo that he found it a fun way to engage with the language and the benefits of having a similar game in Kiswahili could be tremendous.
In this interactive game, a new daily six-letter word is selected from the Fumbeno database and players are invited to figure it out within five tries. Lead developer, Vanessa, a second-year computer science student at the Institute of Accountancy in Arusha, points out how intellectually rewarding it can be to figure out a six-letter word within constraints.
“The main challenge was in creating a database of all Kiswahili words with six letters,” Linus told The Chanzo in an interview. “But so far the feedback has been positive and we continue working on that challenge.”
Fumbeno went live on July 7, 2022, as World Kiswahili Day was celebrated globally, a day appointed by UNESCO in 2021 to celebrate the Kiswahili language, the only African language used in the United Nations Directorate of Communications.
This resolution comes from the recognition of the role Kiswahili plays in promoting cultural diversity, creating awareness, fostering dialogue among communities and planting the seeds of unity and understanding among nations.
In an interview with The Chanzo, Baharoon said that Fumbeno aims to increase the players’ Kiswahili vocabulary as well as promote the spread of Kiswahili across the world.
“I hope that many people will have the opportunity to play this game,” Baharoon says optimistically. “I hope they will enjoy its challenging part and get an opportunity to test their knowledge of Kiswahili’s vocabulary.”
Fumbeno can be played by visiting www.fumbeno.com.
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