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The Assistant Manager of the North Mara Gold Mine Community Relations Department, Nasieku Kisambu (in the middle) addresses villagers in one of the meetings held last week to listen to grievances and concerns in 11 villages surrounding the mine in Tarime district, Mara region.

By our Correspondent  

The Tarime-based North Mara Gold Mine in Mara region has conducted a week’s grievance clinic in 11 nearby villages in a calculated move to listen to various grievances and other concerns from villagers as a way of strengthening neighbourly relations.

A team from the mine constituting a special clinic charged with creating friendly relations with surrounding communities has already visited Mjini Kati, Nyangoto, Kewanja, Matongo, Nyabichune and Kerende.

Other villages which also hosted the Barrick North Mara delegation are Nyakunguru, Komarera, Genkuru, Msege and Nyamwaga.

The clinic’s major objectives were to avail the mine authorities the opportunity to respond to the grievances and concerns raised by the residents of the mentioned villages.

Another goal was to raise awareness among the villagers about the existence of a grievance mechanism at the North Mara Gold Mine for resolution of any grievances and concerns, and to address misinformation and clarify misconceptions in the community.

According to a report, achievements of the grievance mechanism include its successful rollout within the community surrounding the mine and the effective response to the concerns raised by the community.

In recent years, the Barrick North Mara Gold Mine has been a catalyst to the socio-economic development of the communities surrounding it in terms of financing projects in health, education water and roads under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

Even outside villages the mine also benefit from the CSR and royalty money that it pumped into development projects, according North Mara authorities.

Administered by Twiga Minerals, a joint firm between Barrick Corporation and the Tanzania government, the mine contributes a huge chunk of revenue to the government as proceeds from the mining sector.