The Coordinator of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Program (NAELP), Dr Carol Serwaa Donkor, has called on the Ghana Chamber of Mines to work with the government to create projects that would have a long-term impact on mining communities and the country.
She commended the Chamber of Mines and other mining companies for the social responsibility projects carried out to improve the lives of mining communities. However, she believes that a more lasting impact could be made if the Chamber and mining companies work together with NAELP to pool resources to create a larger project that can employ more youth.
She stated NAELP’s interest was in shaping mining companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to align them with government priorities to ensure that the image of the mining industry was improved and the impact of CSR was sustained.
To make the impact visible, the coordinator disclosed NAELP plans to hold a Mining Impact/CSR Expo, which would bring together industry players and provide exhibition spaces for mining companies to showcase decades of investment and its impact on communities.
Dr Sulemanu Koney, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, warmly welcomed NAELP’s ideas, saying that “Finding alternative sources of income is a significant way to contribute to national development. It is wonderful to work you are doing and we are eager to work with you to make a difference.”
He noted, however, that there was the need to think through the mining sector’s demand areas and roll out projects to yield better results, adding that the first port of call should be research to know the availability of demand, what was needed and what could be done to multiply the resources.
He cited the new Mining and Minerals Technology Faculty Block donated by the Chamber of Mines to the George Paa Grant University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa as a good place to start with the need for research on sector demands.
Dr Koney stated that there was also a need to understand the relationship between mining and non-mineral resources to develop projects that can have a significant impact on mining communities and the country.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
