GOVERNMENT HAILS GEITA GOLD MINING FOR 90 PRE CENT JOBS, TENDERS TO LOCALS

An employee of the Geita Gold Mining Limited (GGML), Omary Faustine Matulanya giving information to the Deputy Minister, Office of the Prime Minister (Work, Youth, Employment and the Disabled), Patrobas Katambi (left) about the tyres used in stone carrying machines and gold sand inside the mines. Katambi visited the company's booth at the workplace health and safety exhibition held at Tumbaku fields in Morogoro region from 26 to 30 April this year.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister (Work, Youth, Employment and Disabled), Prof. Joyce Ndalichako greeting some GGML company employees when she visited the company's booth at the workplace health and safety exhibition that ended on April 30, 2023.

Some of the employees of the Geita Gold Mining Limited (GGML) company in a group photo with the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister (Work, Youth, Employment and the Disabled), Prof. Joyce Ndalichako when visited the company's booth during the health and safety week exhibition held at the Tumbaku grounds in Morogoro. In the exhibition, GGML has emerged as the overall winner as the best exhibitor and the best company with innovative modern equipment that focuses on health and safety at the workplace.

Deputy Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Work, Youth, Employment and People with Disabilities), Patrobas Katambi has hailed the Geita Gold Mining Limited (GGML) Company for providing employment opportunities to more than 90 per cent of Tanzanians in the mine as well as creating vacancies for others to get tenders and sell products and services to the company.

Elaborating, he also praised the company for emerging as the winner on innovations and being the most attractive pavilion displaying workplace health and safety at the exhibition held at Tumbaku grounds in Morogoro region from 26 to 30 April this year.

Mr Katambi made the reservations after visiting the company's booth in the exhibition organized by the Occupational Health and Safety Agency (OSHA) in Morogoro Region that also coincided with the Worlds Labour Day, marked nationally in the area.

"I should especially congratulate them for reducing injuries and disability at work, work-related illnesses, but also ensuring that all working environments are safe to the extent that workers return home when safe.

"I am happy to see that the entire pavilion and even within the company, a large percentage of employees are our fellow Tanzanians, so we are increasingly emphasizing that Tanzanians be given priority in all workplaces," he said.

He noted that when a foreigner holds a job position, it means that the skills are rare and therefore, he/she should train a Tanzanian within a duration as expected by the sixth phase government under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Mr Katambi further said: “She has directed me to make sure at all times that if there are foreigners with skills behind a Tanzanian, the expertise should be passed to a Tanzanian.”

He said that GGML has become a role model in the purchase of local goods and services, which in turn raise the livelihoods of the surrounding communities, especially through the local content program, adding that things that are available in the country should be bought here in order to increase liquidity in the country and not have a lot of money go abroad.

"But you have also considered the safety of the environment in general so that we do not find people with disabilities caused by mines, even our environment and land remain safe, so you Tanzanians who are there are representatives to ensure the safety of us, living beings," he said.

On his part, GGML Manager responsible for safety at workplace, Isack Senya said that more than 3000 people visited the pavilion and learned various things about the technologies used to work in a healthy and safe environment.

He said this year GGML brought technological and modern equipment to enable the company to emerge as the best company with innovation in the equipment.

He also promised the Deputy Minister that they will continue implementing various projects that help the community get rid of poverty as well as get better services in collaboration with the government.

Among other things, the Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Work, Youth, Employment and People with Disabilities, Prof. Joyce Ndalichako also passed by the pavilion and congratulated the company for being an important stakeholder in complying with the requirements of the law emphasizing health and safety in the workplace work.