As a global business with roots in South Africa and an established presence across the African continent, AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) recently sponsored a convening of the South African Business Forum in Dar es Salaam. The meeting brought together existing, new, and prospective members to foster purposeful collaboration across the business community and strengthen commercial ties between South Africa and Tanzania.
Chris Green, Director at ALN Tanzania and A&K Tanzania, provided an assessment of the current regional security environment and its implications for businesses operating in East Africa. His remarks addressed the risks arising from what he characterized as a fragile geopolitical baseline, offering scenario-planning insights that outlined a range of potential outcomes given the significant uncertainties presently facing the region.
In practical terms, Green encouraged companies with operations or supply chains in East Africa to consider diversifying their fuel import sources as a measure of risk mitigation. He also highlighted a set of strategic opportunities relevant to Tanzania specifically, including the prospect of accelerating Tanzania’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) final investment decision, the importance of strengthening national fuel reserves, and the value of leveraging Tanzania’s geographic position as a comparatively stable location for port operations, gas reserves, and regional logistics corridors.
Simon Shayo, Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Africa, at AngloGold Ashanti, presented an overview of the company’s African operations and their significance to the group’s global financial performance. He noted that AGA’s African operations contribute up to 50% of the company’s total global earnings, underscoring the strategic importance of the continent to the group’s portfolio.
With specific reference to Tanzania, Shayo highlighted that Geita Gold Mining Limited (GGML) has contributed more than USD 3.7 billion in tax revenue to the Government of Tanzania over the company’s total period of operation in the country. In the 2024/2025 financial year alone, GGML contributed USD 280.7 million in tax, a figure that reinforces the company’s position as one of Tanzania’s most significant contributors to public revenue.
Stephen Mhando, GGML Kilimanjaro Challenge Against HIV/AIDS, Trust Manager, presented on the work of the Trust, a social investment vehicle through which AGA and its partners direct resources toward community health and wellbeing programmes. In his remarks, Mhando referenced data published by UNAIDS indicating that the national HIV prevalence among adults in Tanzania stands at 4.4%, contextualizing the health challenges that community-focused programmes such as those supported by the Kili Trust are designed to address.
Mhando extended a welcome to prominent business representatives in attendance from Tanzania, South Africa, and other parts of the continent, acknowledging the value of cross-sector partnerships in addressing community development challenges at scale.
The South African Business Forum meeting reflects AGA’s broader commitment to strengthening the enabling environment for responsible business in the markets where it operates. GGML’s participation and sponsorship is consistent with the company’s values of collaboration and its recognition that meaningful progress on economic and social development is best achieved through sustained, purposeful partnerships across the public and private sectors.