
Dr. Carol Serwaa Donkor, NAELP Coordinator, with Dr. Sulemanu Koney, CEO of the Ghana Chamber
The Coordinator of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), Dr. Carol Serwaa Donkor, has called on the Ghana Chamber of Mines to collaborate with government, through her outfit, in creating visible projects that will make lasting impact in mining communities and the country as a whole.
The NAELP Coordinator made the call during a working visit to the Chamber of Mines. She lauded the various projects undertaken by the Chamber of Mines and other mining companies in contributing to the lives of mining communities.
She, however, stressed that a more lasting impact will be made and felt, if the Chamber and mining companies act collaboratively with NAELP to put together resources to create a bigger project that can absorb a huge number of the youth into gainful employment.
She also declared NAELP’s interest in shaping the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of mining companies to align with government’s priorities in making sure that the impact made with CSR stays.
Dr. Carol Donkor also submitted to the CEO of the Chamber of Mines a proposal on the need to highlight their Corporate Social Responsibility activities. This, she said, falls in line with government’s agenda of placing the mining industry in a better light than it is now.
Mining visibility
On making the impact visible, Dr. Carol disclosed her outfit’s intention of holding a Mining Impact/CSR Expo, which she explained will bring together players in the industry, and provide exhibition spaces for mining companies to showcase decades of investment and impact in the communities.
She hoped that NAELP can leverage on the weight of the Chamber to deepen collaboration at the highest level.
For his part, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Sulemanu Koney, welcomed the ideas and programmes inherent in the NAELP.
He said finding alternative livelihoods is a major avenue to contribute to national development, adding “it is such a great work you are doing and we are more than willing to collaborate with you to make this impact”.
He noted that there is the need to think through the demand areas of the mining sector, and skew projects in that direction to yield better results. In his view, the first point of call should be researching to know the availability of demand, what is needed and what can be done to multiply these resources.
He cited the construction of the new Mining and Minerals Technology Faculty block donated to the George Paa Grant University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa by the Chamber of Mines as a good place to start in terms of developing a research base to ignite the sector.
The CEO further stressed the need to understand the relationship between mining and the non-mineral resource and find linkages that will help come up with projects that can trigger modest socio-economic impact in mining communities across the country.