Community
Rainbow is committed to the highest standards of corporate social responsibility and strives to ensure that the local community shares in the benefits its projects.
This will remain an important element of our strategy going forward through the provision of employment opportunities, local community investment, the support of local supply chains (for example through local equipment hire, fuel purchase and support services for the trial mining operations) and the payment of taxes and royalties.
We aim to provide local people with business opportunities, such as catering for the workforce, and purchase local produce wherever possible. Since 2017, Rainbow has spent US$5.6 million with local suppliers in Burundi, as shown in the table below:
Local expenditure with suppliers in Burundi (in US$ million)
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 5.6 |
Rainbow supplies clean, fresh water to the community near Gakara from a tank outside its plant at Kabezi, fed from Rainbow’s own borehole supply.
As we progress towards on-site trial processing at Phalaborwa, we look forward to engaging the community around that project site, ensuring we bring benefits wherever possible to our host communities. For further information on our approach, see our 2022 Annual Report.
Government Payments
Rainbow is committed to full payment of tax and fiscal obligations wherever we operate, thereby supporting our social licence to operate, and ensuring a fair contribution to local economies. The table below sets out the key payments to the government, arising as a result of Rainbow’s activity, including direct taxes (such as land taxes, duties etc) and indirect taxes (such as payroll taxes, withholding tax, and net VAT paid).
| FY 2022 | FY 2021 | ||||||
| US$’000 | UK | Burundi | Total | UK | Burundi | Total | |
| Royalties | – | – | – | – | 36 | 36 | |
| Permit and land taxes | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Corporation tax | – | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | |
| Duties & other | – | – | – | – | 22 | 22 | |
| Total tax borne | – | 2 | 2 | – | 58 | 58 | |
| Payroll tax | 44 | 78 | 122 | 91 | 154 | 245 | |
| Withholding tax | – | – | – | – | 13 | 13 | |
| Net VAT | (21) | (4) | (26) | – | (12) | (12) | |
| Total net payments to government | 22 | 76 | 22 | 91 | 213 | 304 | |