Tasiast Advisory and TA

completed

This project will focus on strategic engagement at national, sector and company levels to establish the building blocks and alignment between government expectations and the performance of Tasiast and other foreign operators in Mauritania on local content. The project will have the following activities: 1. Comparative Analysis and Baseline on Local Content Performance: The project will undertake an assessment of Tasiast’s existing policies and practices on local content to identify any gaps that might exist within its local supply system and provide recommendations on critical actions required to meet the Government's expectations and requirements on local content. Secondly, the project will facilitate data collection on the mining sector’s on-going efforts related to local content. 2. Gap Analysis and Industrial Baseline Survey: The project will carry out a gap analysis to review the demand and supply challenges alongside the key institutional, technical, and regulatory constraints local businesses face in meeting the mining sector contracting requirements. The baseline survey/gap analysis will take into consideration gender and whether women-owned businesses face different obstacles to competitiveness. 3. Assessment of Gaps on Disclosures according to the Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanisms (LPRM): The project will carry out an assessment of Tasiast to identify gaps in adopting the LPRM disclosures. A workshop will be organized to present the findings and share experiences of other mining companies that have adopted the LPRM. A communication plan/strategy will be recommended for Tasiast to take a demonstration role and advocate for the adoption of the disclosures in the LPRM across the extractives sector to improve transparency on companies’ local procurement performance. 4. Support on Domestic Standards/Certifications: A diagnostic/benchmarking of domestic (Mauritanian) standards compared to international standards will be carried out. This will help Tasiast to develop a better understanding of the gaps between the required standards and the current capability of local businesses in Mauritania. It will also provide recommendations to bring domestic standards and certifications into alignment with international standards required by the international extractive sector companies in Mauritania.