Barrick’s tips on mining sector opportunities

Tarime. Barrick took its local business development programme to Mara at the weekend in a deliberate move to boost the involvement of locals in the mining value chain.

An initiative of Barrick, the programme provides professional training and business consulting for small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen their skills and enable them to profit from the mining value chain.

Launched in November 2021, the programme is conducted through workshops and mentorships, seeking to build the companies’ capabilities and assist the SMEs to take advantage of opportunities available in the mining sector.

Gracing the two-day event here at the weekend, the Regional Commissioner for Mara, Mr Said Mohamed Mtanda urged businesses that took part in the mentorship programme to take it seriously so they can grab opportunities offered by Barrick North Mara and others within the mining sector.

He congratulated Barrick North Mara for winning the best taxpayer award in 2022 and for awarding $29 million in tenders to local companies.

“Besides, at national level, Barrick has awarded tenders worth $51 million in tenders to local companies during the current quarter of the year…,” he said adding that the company has also paid Sh70 billion to the government which has been injected in a number of development projects, including improvement of education amenities across the country.

He urged residents surrounding the company to defeat the allure of intruding into the mines so that the country can continue to benefit from mining operations.

Barrick North Mara acting manager for the community relations department, Hermence Christopher, said the mentorship programme benefits all companies that currently do business with Barrick and those that have not yet done so in line with the local content policy requirements.