Morten Gade (left) hands over cement allocation letter to representative of a beneficiary institution
About 4,500 communities have received a total of 500,000 bags of cement from the GHACEM Cement Foundation (GCF) since its inception in 2002, Nana Prah Agyensaim VI, Chairman of the Foundation, has disclosed.
Nana Agyensaim VI, who disclosed this while speaking at the GCF Northern Sector Awards last week in Sunyani, said for 15 years, the Foundation has provided free cement to health and educational institutions to support their infrastructure development.
Selected health and educational institutions from Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions received a total of 10,190 bags of cement at a cost of about GH¢326,000.
In the Southern Sector, Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Western and Eastern Regions received a total of 15,000 bags valued at GH¢480,000 at a similar event held in Cape Coast.
Managing Director of GHACEM, Morten Gade, said the company would continue to support self-help projects towards national development.
Noting that cement manufacturing companies have installed capacity of 9 million tonnes as against an average national consumption of 5 million tonnes, he said “with this huge excess in supply there is no need to continue the importation of bagged cement into the country which has no added values in terms of industrial competence, employment, direct investment, local sub-contracting and the use of local raw materials”.
Mr. Gade also seized the occasion to invite Ghanaians to join the company this year, as it celebrates its Golden Jubilee.
“We are marking 50 years of major development, having been used for major monuments in Ghana for the past 50 years and the next 50 years to come.
On her part, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, a Council Member of the GCF, noted that this year’s donation by GCF was a further demonstration of GHACEM’s commitment towards playing a key role in the development of Ghana.