By Lake Zone Watch Writer
Barrick North Gold Mine Mara will offer ex-gratia payments’ to about 3,000 villagers at Nyamichele and Murwambe in Tarime District after the mine decided it would no longer acquire their areas for its operations.
The package will be ready for disbursement any time this week after the government approved the gold mines plan of payment and instructed Tarime District Commissioner (DC) to form a special committee to supervise its implementation, according to a representative of the DC, James Yunge.
Yunge made the announcement yesterday during different public rallies held at Murwambe in Nyakunguru village and Murwambe in Kewanja village. Both villages are located near one of the countrys largest gold mine’s that is operated by Barrick in partnership with the Government of Tanzania through Mwiga Minerals.
Member of Parliament for Tarime Rural constituency, Mwita Waitara also attended the rallies and urged the villagers to turn up in big number to receive their payments based on laid down conditions.
The gold mine says, about 3000 people are on the list of getting the payments directly through the villagers’ bank account numbers.
We are planning to deposit the money into individual accounts to avoid unnecessary inconveniences, Hermence Christopher Lulah, an official from Barrick North Mara Gold Mine, told the villagers during the public rallies.