By:
Kwabena Adu Koranteng
Newmont Gold Ghana limited (Akyem mines)
has announced a scholarship scheme for 400 indigenous students from the ten communities surrounding its
Akyem concession in the eastern region
of Ghana
this year .
Students will be selected from the
primary, Junior High and Secondary schools and supported with funds annually to
sail through the academic ladder till they complete their first degree.
Selection of students would be determined by the various educational committees
in the communities supported by the
Newmont Akyem Development Foundation, according to Paul Apenu, head of NAKDeF.
Mr Apenu in an interview said the figure
in likely to increase by about 50%, that’s 600 next year as NAKDeF receives its
share of proceeds from the gold sale. The scholarship scheme comes alongside
other infrastructural projects being developed to keep the Abirem towns and
communities in good shape.
The Managing Director of Obaa Hotel,
located in the heart of New Abirem , in an interview with this Journalist praised the management of Newmont Ghana, Akyem
Mines for initiating various
infrastructural academic and developmental projects in the Abirem communities.
“ we are grateful for the various roads
being constructed in our communities , the scholarship programmes for students,
the clinics , the hospital wards,
the water projects and the rest . Besides, you have given us jobs to
do. For instance I run a hotel here and its
highly patronized because the communities have been exposed to the
international community due to the
presence of Newmont and you always see people coming in and out. Out of this we
make our ends meet. We are really happy
with the presence of Newmont here
and what it is doing to bring
development to our doorsteps. It is my hope that they stay here for a long time
and give us more . Had it not been Newmont, I wonder who would have done it for
us”, he stated.
As part of its educational transformation
program Newmont has
also renovated the Adausena Local Authority(L/A) Junior High School in
2010, constructed the New Abirem District Assembly Primary school, Afosu L/A JHS in 2012 and the
Ntronang Roman Catholic primary school was also constructed by Newmont in
2010. Besides, the miner constructed the boys dormitory f the Afosu Vocatinal
School at a cost of Ghc405,568, Hweakwae LA JHS
at Ghc 237,608 and the Afosu Vocational SchoolGirls Dormitory at a cost of Ghc405,568..
Newmont organized the 2012 and 2013
springboard roadshow for students , youth
and the community members . it also held the 2012 inter schools
Edutainment programme for students in the area.
It constructed the Adausena/Hweakwae
water system at a coost of GHC749,053.66, the old Abirem Water systems at Ghc
510,970 in 2012, the Ntronang water expansion
project at a cost of Ghc 258,689 and the New Abirem Government Hospital
water system costing Ghc86,410, and
provided water supply facilities for the New Abirem , Afosu senior High School
at a cost of Ghc65,317.
As of 1st June 2015, Newmont
Akyem employed 763 workers, out of which 339 representing 44% are indigenes,
399, representing 52% are locals employed from various regions within Ghana and 25
representing 4% being expatriates.
In 2015 there is an ongoing scholarship
scheme where Newmont is awarding scholarship to over 400 children from primary
school to the university level in communities within its concession. Plans are
also underway to construct one teacher’s quarters, a health centre, and
classroom blocks, undertake community road improvement in three communities,
build two community libraries, and provide apprenticeship to over 100 people in
the area and a micro-credit scheme in 8 communities.
The Newmont Akyem Operation, regarded as
the most environmentally friendly
mining operation in Africa stems from its giant experience in responsible
mining and safety. The Newmont Akyem mine is the safest mine in Ghana as
regards the stringent measures put in place to protect the environment, the
forest reserves, inhabitants, communities and towns around its concession. It is unbelievable to realize that since the Akyem Mine started
operation, it has recorded zero accidents, under the ZERO HARM, the Akyem Way
plan” thus earning it the winner of the best safe mine in Ghana in 2014.
The Akyem project has become very
successful as it is achieving all the set targets in gold production, revenue
generation, good environmental management, solid reforestation project human
rights and employment creation.
“We communicate our performance and
activities in an accurate, transparent and timely manner through extensive,
proactive and strategic engagement and participation process. Besides, we have
built a sound working relationship with all key stakeholders on a foundation of
trust and mutual respect”. Stated Kelvin Moxham, General Manager, Akyem Mine. .
As part of promoting corporate community
development, Newmont Akyem established the Newmont Akyem Development Foundation
(NAKDeF) on 4th June 2014 and handed over a GHC225, 000 office
apartment to begin operation. The Foundation has since accumulated over GHC13
Million as of May 2015. The agreement is regarded as a catalyst for sustainable
community development with a contribution of US$1 for every ounce of gold sold and 1 % of its annual profit before tax
into a fund to finance the activities of
the foundation.
NAKDeF has a clear community focus on
human resources development, infrastructure projects, economic empowerment,
local grant making, sports and youth development, cultural heritage and natural resource protection , according
to Oduro Kwarteng Marfo, Head of external affairs Newmont Akyem Mines.
What
has contributed to the successful
operation of Newmont at Abirem in Akyem is its commitment to respect
human rights of its stakeholders . the mining firm has developed policies and
prcesses that help to avoid being
involved with harm to human rights. It helps to provide remedy
for any harm with which the company is involved.
Newmont Akyem Human rights commitment
involves respecting the dignity, wellbeing and human rights of employees and
the communities in which it operates as well as others affected by its
operations. “ our actions and and
philsphies with regard to human rights are guided by the organization for economic cooperation and development(OECD)guidelines and reflects
the United Nations Guiding principles on Business and Human rights due diligence process. We are committed to
implementing the voluntary principles on security and human rights and to understand and respect the
cultural heritage, rights and norms of
the local communities through proactive engagement and training of personnel.
We operate to mitigate impacts on community livelihoods
and environment”. Newmont is committed to promoting health , safety and community
development to improve the quality of
lives of employees and local community
members .
“ Newmont has also established a robust
and accessible complaints and grievances mechanism at all sites as a non
judicial means for addressing real and perceived harm to stakeholders including
local communities and employees” Paul Apenu, head of NAKDeF indicated.
Some of the special project being
undertaking by Newmont Akyem include Air Quality management where all roads and
other auxiliary roads are watered regularly to minimize airborne dust .
vehicular speed are also applied to
minimize airborne dust and promote road safety. It also implements equipment
maintenance plan to control the release of noxious fumes int the environment.
As
part of the environmental monitoring programmes
Newmont Akyem undertakes
wildlife, Aquatic, water quality , air quality, blast and noise and meteological monitoring. It is also
undertaking a concurrent mining and land reclamation programe .
Throughout
the life of the operation, Newmont’s reclamation efforts are designed to
accommodate sustainable, post-mining land uses. Our efforts include maintaining
biodiversity and providing post closure multiple beneficial land uses.as regards
the reforestation project, Newmont has commenced a 60 hector tree plantation
programe within the mine area. Phase two of the project involves the
redevelopment of the 257 hector kwekaru forest reserve from 2016.
On the health improvement access
programme Newmont Akyem has constructed the Adausena Maternity Ward
at a cost of GHC101,420, the construction of the male ward cost the miner
GHC219,834, female ward,GHC221,918, doctors Bungalow,GHC114,772, Nurses
quarters 112,111, 8 unit I bedroom nurses quarters at a cost of Ghc,232,418,47.
The miner donated a 275 Kva generatr sets
for the new Abirem Government hospital at a cost of Ghc108,619.
The Newmont Akyem Development programme
has generated about US$13.2 million and
the entire amount is been spent between 2013 and 2014. And more that 10 million
dollars are expected to be generated by the end of 2015.
The
Akyem Community Relations Unit serves as the liaison between Newmont and local
communities near the mine. We regularly engage with youth associations, women’s
groups, Queen Mothers, assemblymen and women, Unit Committee members, the
traditional leaders from the Paramountcy, Stool land owners and the sub-chiefs
in the project-affected communities.
The Newmont Akyem Development
Foundation funds sustainable social investments near the mine. The established community information centers
provide the local community with information on business and job opportunities,
updates on project news and serve as a place for ongoing dialogue.
Resettlement
As part of efforts to develop Akyem,
Newmont identified a number of
households and individuals within some communities lost
both residential and cropped land in the Mine Area.
In order to mitigate these effects
Newmont constructed the Akyem resettlement community. Approximately 240
residential structures for more than 150
households. Other new structures for the resettlement community include a model
school from primary to junior high school, community centre, Football Park,
and three churches.
The resettlement community was
developed to include modern infrastructure systems such as water distribution,
electricity and commerce and transportation.Newmont has also
signed an agreement with its host communities and the Birim North District
Assembly on employment issues. The establishment of the Akyem Development
Foundation is also on course to finance community development activities and
educational scholarships, well into the future.
The Akyem Influx Programme seeks to mitigate the
potentially negative effects of an increased population in the communities near
the proposed mine.Sanitation
A 10-seater Vault Chamber toilet has been constructed for each of the project affected communities. Newmont also has invested more than 1.3 million Ghana Cedis in the provision of waste disposal facilities and the construction of a modern sanitary landfill site for local communities.More than 1,000 community food vendors and drinking spot operators were trained in hygiene practices, to ensure safe services to their patrons. Additionally, Newmont has helped to provide training in environmental hygiene, with an emphasis on malaria and cholera prevention, to more than 2,000 community members. Prevention training included proper hand-washing aimed at reducing illnesses in the project communities. To assist community members to combat malaria, 2,500 treated mosquito bed nets were distributed in the area.
Livelihood Enhancement
In 2012, 276 project beneficiaries were trained in various alternative livelihood program (ALP) ventures including:
Cocoa
hi-tech techniques; Bee keeping and honey production; Rural and commercial
poultry production and management;Animal health and diseases management;
Occupational health and safety; Post-harvest technology; Maize production; and
Vegetable production.
Also in 2012 a working shed with smokeless stoves was
constructed for palm oil processing at Hweakwae. Newmont established 11
agricultural demonstration farms/ sites to aid the teaching and learning
activities of agricultural technologies. The demonstration sites included cocoa
hi-tech, maize, maize narrow crib and vegetables. We worked with more than 300
farmers on agricultural extension education, advisory and counseling services
through on-farm demonstrations, house-to-house and farmer field day activities.
Additional youth and community training provided by Newmont in areas near the Akyem mine include:Group dynamics and leadership skill building;Heavy duty equipment operation;Bread baking and pastries production; andBusiness management skills
Akyem undertakes a number of
initiatives aimed at minimizing our environmental footprint.
Community
Tree planting and Medicinal Plant Farm
About 1,600 ornamental plants were
planted at the Yayaaso resettlement village. Once grown, the trees will provide
shade and serve as wind brakes.Currently, community members travel long
distances into the forest to acquire medicinal plants. Newmont is establishing
a one-half hectare medicinal plant farm to provide nearby communities easier,
safer and faster access to these medicinal plants.
Road Safety
Newmont has trained 119 commercial
drivers operating within the Akyem mine on road safety and defensive driving
techniques aimed at reducing accidents on local roads. We also have trained
more than 6,000 school students in local communities on road usage and safety
issues.
Community
Security
Members of nine community watchdog
committees operating in the Akyem communities participated in refresher
training in community patrolling and security related issues. Members of the
nine committees, consisting of nearly 80 community members were provided
operational logistics support, safety helmets, wellington boots, raincoats and
security flashlights, incentive support and phone credits for communication
with the public security agencies.
Newmont’s Akyem operation is located
in Ghana in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region, approximately 111
miles northwest of the capital city of Accra.Newmont obtained the mining lease
for Akyem in 2010 and began commercial production in 2013.
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