Men and women engaged in small scale businesses within the Newmont Ahafo South Mine in the Asutifi North District of the Ahafo region have received micro-credit support worth GHC4,577,060.00 to expand their economic businesses.
The New Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) disbursed the amount, benefiting more than 2,157 businesses and entrepreneurs, including People with Disabilities (PwDs).
Additionally, the foundation has disbursed GHC1,124,560.00 to businesses in the Mine’s Ahafo North project in the Tano North Municipality of the region.
Established in 2008, as a mechanism to manage Newmont’s sustainable community development commitment to its 10 host communities, the foundation had since 2011, also spent close to GHC2 million to provide employable skills training to young people in the area.
The communities comprise Kenyasi Number One, Kenyasi Number Two, Ntotroso, Gyedu and Wamahinso in the Asutifi North District as well as Susuanso, Yamfo, Techire, Afrisipakrom and Adrobaa in the Tano North Municip
ality of the Ahafo Region.
Currently, the NADeF is spending an additional GHC15 million on construction of 13 physical infrastructure projects, spread across the five communities in Tano North, says Professor Yaw Ofosu-Kusi, the Board Chair of the NADeF.
Speaking in an interview with the media at the sidelines of an inspection visit by the Board to the project beneficiary communities at Techire, Prof Ofosu-Kusi said the foundation had since 2009 provided scholarships to 12,858 youth in the 10 host communities at the tertiary, apprenticeship, and Senior High School levels to the tune of GHC29,639,818.20.
The board members were in the communities to acquaint themselves with the conditions of the projects including a multi-purpose block at the Yamfo College of Health, and on-going construction of a 12-seater toilet facility and the fencing of the Yamfo Royal Cemetery.
At Susuanso, the board inspected progress of work on the construction of a culvert project, 16-seater water closet toilet for Kwattwuma Number
One, renovated Tiesua toilet, as well as on-going work on the renovation of the Susuanso market.
They also interacted with some clients who had benefited from the foundation’s micro-credit scheme and were impressed with the progress of work on the extension of electricity at Afrisipakrom and construction work on the six-unit classroom block and supply of furniture for the local Roman Catholic Primary School.
The board also inspected progress of work on the construction of a standard palace complex for the chiefs and people of Adrobaa, three-storey classroom block for the Techire SHS, and a bulk water supply facility at the school.
Prof. Ofosu-Kusi advised beneficiaries of the micro-credit scheme to endeavour to pay back so that more businesses would also benefit and urged contractors working on those projects to speed up and complete them for use.
Mrs Elizabeth Opoku-Darko, the Executive Secretary of NADeF, later told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that all the projects being executed by the foundation were
based on the need assessment of the local communities.
The Sustainable Development Committees (SDCs) set up in the mining communities recommended and the NADeF Board approved for the execution of the projects, she stated.
Source: Ghana News Agency