From Alfred Adams
The management of Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), a mining company based in Damang in the Prestea Hunni-Valley District, has constructed and handed over a GH¢500,000 Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre to the students and pupils of Huni Valley Methodist Basic School.
The ICT Center, known as “Prof John Evans Atta Mills ICT Center”, was built by the company and handed over to the school where our late President started basic education from 1946 to 1949. As a result, the ICT facility, which has been furnished, was to immortalise the memory of the late President, who stood for excellence in education.
Commissioning the center, Mr. Alfred Baku, Executive Vice President and Head of West Africa of GGL, observed that ICT was a critical tool in the world today, creating immense opportunities for individuals, while accelerating the pace of the growth and development of communities.
Mr. Baku, however, pointed out that though the late President may not necessarily be an IT genius, the company shared his love for education and drive for excellence in spending most of his life in the academia. Describing the late President as a firm believer in the power of education, Mr. Baku pointed out and stressed that the late Prof. Mills pursued his career spending most of his life in the academia.
He added that as President, the late Professor developed several key initiatives in the educational sector, leaving behind a legacy for which he will be proudly remembered. He continued that when President Mills passed on, the GGL pledged to preserve his memory with the hope that members of his community and beyond would be inspired by what he was able to achieve.
“Hence, the idea of ICT center aligns perfectly with one of our key focus areas in education.” The ICT edifice is situated in the Bosumtwi community, which houses the Methodist Basic School, where the late president begun basic school. It is located 10 kilometres from the GGL mine in Damang.
Continuing, the GGL Executive Vice President disclosed that his company’s third community investment goes into education, which has seen the gold company spend $8 million in the sector, providing infrastructure, scholarships, bursaries, and educational material among others.
On health, water and sanitation, Mr. Baku said his company had invested about $25 million to help to improve the quality of the residents of its host communities.
President John Mahama, in an address read for him at the handing over of the ICT Center, called on mining companies and businesses entities to present their corporate social responsibility strategies in ways that are consistent with government policies, and be responsive to the imperatives of time and the needs of the local community.
According to him, the government would continue to create and facilitate an enabling environment to attract and nurture growth in private investment and partnerships, in support of the goals for accelerated industrialisation and development. “However, we cannot maximise the value of opportunities that will be created by the growth in private investment, if the teeming youth of this country do not have the skills to match,” he said.
He noted that providing the relevant and appropriate skills for the youth requires partnerships between the state and the private sector for mining companies, and that such partnership arrangements are best delivered at the local level, through well organised and properly designed and executed corporate social responsibility strategies.
“Good corporate citizens such as Goldfields Ghana, not only complement the efforts of [the] government in the development of human capital, but also guarantee a peaceful environment for business to thrive,” he added.
He pointed out that the government was aware of the current challenges facing the mining sector, adding, “We know you are also feeling the harsh effects of the economic challenges the nation is going through.” He said the government will continue to steer the affairs of the country in the right direction. “We shall pursue policies that will give companies such as yours the needed confidence to remain here and continue investing in our economy.”