Maendeleo Fund

As a part of our commitment to contribute to sustainable development in Tanzania we have established the Maendeleo Fund, the largest community development fund in Tanzania. ABG’s Board has approved a $10 million annual contribution to the Maendeleo Fund which also incorporates ABG’s current direct community spending. We are committed to building enduring relationships with the communities in which we operate over the entire life-cycle of our mines to ensure that local communities have the opportunity to share in the benefits of our activities.
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Maendeleo Fund – Investment Criteria

Investments made by the Maendeleo Fund will focus on community development, health, education, environment, water projects, skills and training programs, and will include support to non-governmental organisations with demonstrated capacity to deliver on community development initiatives.

As part of ABG’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, the Fund will also finance various philanthropic initiatives, donations, sponsorships, partnerships and other forms of support and public investment. Due consideration will also be given to broader development initiatives that support Tanzania’s national development strategy.

The Fund will be administered by ABG’s newly established Community Investment Committee, which will meet on a regular basis to review and approve community development initiatives under the Fund.

Priority will be given to programs that are:

(a) developed from participatory needs assessment and planning conducted in accordance with communities, government and other stakeholders;
   
(b) aligned with village and District development plans;
   
(c) prioritise mitigation of social impacts and risks;
   
(d) includes fulfilment of existing social obligations;
   
(e) leverages ABG’s core business and comparative advantage including in relation to infrastructure and existing facilities and services;
   
(f) maximises inclusivity and minimises dependency; and
   
(g) balances visible short-term projects with longer-term development programmes.

Any unspent portion of the annual allocation to the Fund will be rolled forward into the following year, and aggregated with the following year’s allocation.

The allocation of the Fund between the following areas will be determined on an annual basis by the Community Investment Committee:

(h) expenditure within the host communities around each of the ABG operations and projects
   
(i) ABG initiatives in relation to community development and improvement (ie initiatives in multiple areas such as surgical missions and other NGO partnerships)
   
(j) philanthropic donations and expenditure
   
(k) educational and training sponsorships to build capacity in the Tanzanian mining sector

ABG may apply such conditions and/or limitations to the ABG Maendeleo Fund as it determines necessary in the circumstances.

Community Investment Committee

ABG has established a Community Investment Committee (“Committee”) which is responsible for, among other things, setting support and investment criteria and priorities, reviewing Community Relations budgets, reviewing applications received by ABG for support and investment outside the ABG budgeting process and determining ABG’s social commitments, if any, in respect of such requests.

The Committee is comprised of ABG’s Vice-President of Corporate Affairs, ABG’s CSR Director or Community Relations Manager – Operations, ABG’s Head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, ABG’s PR & Communications Manager and the General Counsel. To the extent necessary, the Committee shall liaise with ABG’s Community Relations Team and other appropriate departments (depending on the subject matter) for purposes of assessing requests for and monitoring Support and Investment commitments.

The Committee shall review ABG’s overall support and investment commitments at least once a year, approve the Community Relations budgets in relation to each site and ensure that the review includes an evaluation of on-going compliance with policy and applicable law.

How to apply

Applicants for the Maendeleo Fund should download the attached document and send to:

Stephen Kisakye
Community Relations Manager
African Barrick Gold,
Plot 1736 Kahama Rd/Hamza Aziz Rd,
Msasani Peninsula,
Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania

Maendeleo Fund – Application Form

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