AngloGold Ashanti Flaunts its Successes in Education

AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Community Trust Fund has commissioned some education projects at a cost of about GHC600, 000. This is in spite of the daunting challenges facing the company in recent times. 

The company says it is currently engaging with its stakeholders including the communities to garner support to give a new birth to the mine and to demonstrate that the company’s values on the community are still intact.

“We are focusing on education because it is the key to the opportunities in this tough and highly competitive world. We can improve our circumstances, uplift ourselves from poverty and become what we want to be if we take advantage of what modern education can offer us,” stated Mr. Fred Attakumah, Managing Director of Obuasi mine.

The objective of the project is not only to strengthen the social contract between AGA and its communities but to also reinforce AGA commitment to make the communities better off for AGA presence.

According to Attakumah, the commissioning of the facilities is to encourage the children who will benefit from this facility to make education a priority and take their studies seriously. “As communities, united to make significant difference in the quality of lives, it behooves on Nananom and elders, parents and teachers to be mindful of their roles and responsibilities to ensure that the children attend school well prepared, regularly and coalesce with the teachers at all times, in order to optimize the best for the children. It is also your duty to ensure the facilities are well maintained at all times.”

AngloGold Ashanti has on its own supported the development of education over the years. It has built more than 12 schools in Obuasi for the people in the communities.

 The Company is currently the main sponsors of the AngloGold Ashanti Kwame Nkrumah Lectures which is organized annually with The Institute of African Studies – University of Ghana. Among others the Company built a hostel in the late 80s for Komfo Anokye Medical School and constructed the Obuasi Senior High Technical School.
 

“With the Trust Fund, hundreds of computers have been donated to schools in the communities to improve IT skills. We have also donated 8 mini buses to several Senior High Schools in our communities to facilitate easy movement of teachers and students.”
In fulfilment of the Stability Agreement signed between the then AngloGold and the Ghana Government in May 2004, AGA set up the ‘AGA Obuasi Community Trust Fund’ in September 2011 with seed money of US$2.5M.

The objective is to strengthen the social contract between AGA and its communities and also to reinforce AGA’s commitment to make the communities better off for AGA presence.

Since the inception of the fund, 8 Toyota Hiace Mini Buses have been donated to selected public Senior High Schools and 110 desktop computers have been donated to 22 selected Junior High schools within its catchment areas in Amansie Central District, Adansi North District, Adansi South District and Obuasi Municipal.