Some beneficiaries with their dummy cheques
The Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU) of TUC-Ghana, as part of its contribution to the development of human resources, health and safety of the public, has presented health items and educational scholarship worth over GH¢50,000 to four institutions in mining communities across the country.
The beneficiary institutions are OLA Girls Senior High School in the Ahafo Region; Patmos Children’s Home in the Ashanti Region; Tarkwa Municipal Hospital in the Western Region and Adausena Health Centre in the Eastern Region.
The OLA Girls Senior High School received hospital beds with mattresses, drip stands, bedside cabinets, high blood pressure devices and pulse oximeter for use in its infirmary.
Two students from Patmos Children’s Home were offered scholarship of GH¢8,000 per year to pursue a three-year course at the Offinso College of Education.
The Tarkwa Municipal Hospital was also presented with a cardiac monitor for the pediatric unit, while the Adausena Health Centre received a 55-inch television set and desktop computer.
The donations were part of activities in marking the Union’s maiden Mineworkers Week celebration, with the goal of getting closer to the people in the mining communities and joining forces with the chiefs and people to advocate for improved infrastructure for the communities.
The theme for the maiden Mineworkers Week was “Integrating Labour and Community Interest for Socio-economic Development.”
The leadership of the GMWU made up of the National Chairman, Mensah Kwarko Gyarkari; General Secretary, Abdul-Moomin Gbana; Deputy General Secretary, Jerry Andoh and Head of Training and Programmes, Vida Brewu, were joined by some members of the GMWU’s National Executive Council to make the donations to the beneficiaries, and also paid courtesy calls on some chiefs at Abirem, Obuasi and Tarkwa.
Mr. Gyarkari said the visit was to assure the chiefs of the determination of the GMWU, to engage them to push for better infrastructure for the mining communities.
“We need the total support of our traditional leaders to ensure that government initiates deliberated and coordinated interventions to addressing the huge infrastructure deficit in the mining towns. Infrastructure in our mining communities must reflect the huge revenue generated from there,” he stressed.
General Secretary of the Union, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, speaking at the presentation at OLA Girls Senior High School, advised the students to study hard for a bright future.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio