Zimbabwe central banker stockpiles gold to bolster ZiG currency
The ZiG - short for Zimbabwe gold — is the nation’s sixth attempt at having a functioning local currency in the last 15 years.
Barrick chief executive Mark Bristow and Tanzania president Samia Suluhu Hassan met on Monday, when the world’s second largest gold miner affirmed its pledge of $30 million in partnership with the Tanzanian government, towards the expansion of education infrastructure in the country.
Called ‘The Barrick-Twiga Future Forward Education Program’, the objective is to build 1,090 classrooms, 1,640 ablution blocks and 270 dormitories across 161 schools nationwide, helping to accommodate approximately 49,000 of the estimated 190,000 students who are expected to start their A-levels in July this year. The first $10 million will be paid in April and the balance will be rolled out with the program.
“We believe that education is key to the development of the country. Both the Bulyanhulu and North Mara gold mines continue to support the education sector through the building of classrooms and the improvement of education infrastructure around the mines, which has seen some of them consistently feature among the top schools in these regions,” Bristow said in a news release.
North Mara has already spent $1.9 million (Tshs 4.5 billion) on 87 primary and secondary schools in the Tarime District, 14 of which are the best performing schools in the district. Bulyanhulu has spent $1.8 million (Tshs 4.2 billion) on 80 educational projects around the mine and is currently building a Vocational Education Training College Centre in Bunango Village. Barrick said its investment around the mine gave 7,557 Tanzanian girls access to education in 2022.
“Last year…Bulyanhulu was awarded the Best Compliant Employer prize by the National Social Security Fund. North Mara and Bulyanhulu also received the first and runner-up recognition awards, respectively, for the export of minerals and the generation of foreign currency,” Bristow said. “They’ve both come a very long way and we look forward to continuing that journey through our Twiga partnership with the government.”
Bristow said that through their community development committees, the Bulyanhulu and North Mara mines had invested more than $10 million in projects to improve healthcare, education, access to potable water and the road infrastructure.
