The Apinto Gyaasehene, Nana Adarkwa Bediako speaking at the programme
The General Manager, Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Tarkwa Mine, Stephen Osei-Bempah has passionately appealed to the youth to take their academic studies seriously to become responsible leaders in future.
According to him, education was the best legacy they could acquire on earth and warned them to do away with any form of behaviour that had the tendency of affecting their life in the future.
He noted that Gold Fields as a socially responsible company and committed to genuine sustainable development had taken to the path of human development in the communities in which it operates.
Mr. Osei-Bempah was speaking during the presentation of scholarship and bursaries to 150 brilliant but needy students in the company’s catchment areas for the 2016/2017 academic year.
The beneficiaries were made up of 87 males and 63 females, pursuing various programmes at the country’s secondary and tertiary institutions, selected from the nine host communities of the mining company’s operational area. Gold Fields established the Foundation in 2005 to support the company’s corporate social responsibility aimed at creating opportunities for its stakeholders, especially employees and communities in which it operates.
Among the development focus of the company are infrastructure development, health, provision of water and sanitation facilities, skills development for the community youth, agriculture and education.
Gold Fields through the Foundation has built classroom blocks, teachers’ quarters; provided ICT centres and others for its catchment areas within the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality.
1,245 students; 475 scholarship beneficiaries and 770 bursary beneficiaries are receiving support from the scholarship scheme.
Mr Osei-Bempah urged the students to make good use of the opportunity offered them.
He indicated that education continued to remain the priority of the company in contributing towards the sustainable development of the communities surrounding the Tarkwa Mine operations.
“For this year alone, our budget allocated for education is $384,842. This will go into providing accommodation for the municipal education directorate, teachers’ awards ceremony, motor bikes for supervision and provision of furniture among others”, he added.
The Gyaasehe of Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Dr Adarkwa Bediako II who chaired the function, appealed to the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly to do well to complement the efforts of the mining companies operating in the area in their development initiatives.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Tarkwa