The Vice President (Corporate Affairs) of African Barrick Gold (ABG), Deo Mwanyika, hands over a bursary award to some of the recipients of ABG’s scholarships to mining students at the University of Dar es Salaam. PHOTO BY A CORRESPONDENT.
Staff Writer
AFRICAN Barrick Gold (ABG) has signed an agreement with the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) to provide scholarships to students in a move aimed at producing more Tanzanian graduates with the necessary skills needed to manage the country’s fast-growing mining sector.
The announcement of the bursaries was made at UDSM’s campus on Monday by ABG’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Deo Mwanyika, and the varsity’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rwekaza Mukandala.
“I am proud to say that ABG has for the past 10 years progressively
increased its commitment to human resource development in Tanzania by providing bursaries to top undergraduate students and offering scholarships to UDSM’s academic staff to pursue postgraduate studies,” said Mwanyika.
The two-year agreement will benefit 12 UDSM students to cover the costs of pursuing studies related to the mining industry. Since ABG inagurated its bursaries programme, more than 70 UDSM students have been awarded much-needed scholarships that enabled them to complete their degree programmes.
Most of these students, who were the top academic performers in their
programmes, are usually employed by ABG’s four gold-producing mines when they complete their degrees.
“As Tanzania’s leader in the mining sector, ABG is committed to further
increase its investment in higher education,” said Mwanyika.
“At African Barrick Gold, we put a lot of emphasis on human capital
development. The steady growth of Tanzania’s mining sector over the past 10 years has generated demand for a local workforce of mining experts.”
More than 400 other UDSM students and academic staff members have also benefitted from practical training, final-year project work and site visits to mines funded by ABG over the past few years.
ABG also finances the purchase of laboratory equipment, student site
visits, accepts UDSM students for practical work experience at its mine
sites and helps supervise final year students on their project works.
The miner, as part of the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME) initiatives, is also spearheading the integrated Mining Technical Training with the long-term vision of developing enough skills within the country to meet the demands of the fast-growing mining sector.
Mwanyika challenged students at institutes of higher learning in Tanzania to apply the education and skills gained for the development of the nation.
On his part, Prof. Mukandala thanked ABG for providing scholarships to UDSM students and urged other investors to follow suit. He said UDSM would work closely with ABG to ensure Tanzania develops a strong workforce of skilled mining professionals.