Financial training vital for alluvial miners, says officer

MOROBE Alluvial Mining Limited (MAML) believes that financial literacy is important and will help people manage and make more money in the years to come.
With the aim of educating alluvial miners and lease holders on financial literacy, the company’s social obligations coordinator Zira Saonu coordinated a training for MAML’s employees on financial literacy with assistance from BSP.
The training, which was held on Saturday in Lae saw more than 80 people attend.
Saonu said the training was part of MAML’s obligation to the lease holders and their families.
“This is a one-day training and we have around 42 participants for the first batch,” Saonu said.
“The second session will be held next week for the remaining group.
“This training will benefit the people and the employees a lot as many people are working but still financially illiterate.
“Many people get tempted easily and don’t spend money wisely and this type of training will teach them how to appropriately use money.”
Saonu said after this they would be running training with leaseholders to participate and be financially independent after the mine closed.
MAML media events coordinator Armstrong Gomara said the company was trying to increase gold production through alluvial miners in Morobe and they wanted to ensure leaseholders and miners knew how to make and save money.
“We don’t want people to be poor after such activities,” Gomara said.
“Around 80 per cent of the working class people are financially illiterate.
“They know how to make money but they don’t know how to use or spend money wisely.”