AngloGold commissions health centre in Tarkwa
AngloGold Ashanti’s Iduapriem Mine has commissioned a new Health Centre for the people of Teberebie and surrounding communities in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly, in the Western Region.
The facility, located within half a kilometre of the Teberebie community, cost an estimated GHC500, 000 and was solely financed by AngloGold Ashanti’s Iduapriem Mine. It includes consulting rooms, maternity units, a laboratory, recovery wards, a dispensary unit, a laundry and nurses’ quarters.
A statement issued to the GNA on Wednesday said the commissioning was to climax a social Investment Day held by AngloGold Ashanti’s Iduapriem Mine, aimed at engaging and updating the company’s business and social partners on the broad range of interventions it has put in place to support and improve the lives of people in its host communities.
These included support in the areas of education, water, sanitation, health and local economic development.
Speaking at the event, the Western Region Minister, Mr George Teye Aidoo commended AngloGold Ashanti for the construction of the centre, saying “the facility will ease pressure on the existing government health facilities in the municipality and create accessibility to modern health care to hundreds of people in the communities, who will otherwise have had to travel very long distances, even in an event of emergency.”
The mining industry worldwide is experiencing difficult and challenging times, a result of the falling gold price and AngloGold Ashanti is not exempted from this trend. To ensure its survival, the company is implementing strategies to produce more gold and reduce its costs. It is however focused on mining responsibly and giving practical demonstration to its values of ensuring that communities are better off for having being there.
“We need to put in more efforts to improve our performance but we can only do that when you give us all the support that we need from you” the Managing Director, Sicelo Ntuli noted.
Personalities, who graced the function, included the Western Regional Minister, Regional Director of Health, Municipal Chief Executive and the Omanhene of Tarkwa Fiase. There was also a photo exhibition on the mine’s social investments, including the very successful AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Programme, which has drastically reduced the incidence of malaria cases in twenty-five districts throughout Ghana.
Source: GNA