In addition, the newspaper house also donated a cow, cartons of purified water and office furniture to the home.

Mr. Charles Wireko, Publisher of Goldstreet Business explained that the donation is the company’s token to the children who will miss what others from privileged backgrounds will receive this festive season.

Therefore, in order to put a smile on the faces of the children, the business newspaper decided to bring some sunshine into their lives.

The Proprietor and Founder of the home, Nii Afotey Botwe II, who was full of praise for the newspaper team, said since he started the home in 2000, no one has donated a cow to the home, and thus expressed his appreciation for the gesture.

Nii Afotey Botwe II explained that his motivation for setting up the home came from his personal childhood experiences where he saw the less fortunate being taken advantage of.

He said his stay in the Netherlands reinforced the idea that someone must help the unfortunate to escape poverty, and one way of doing that is through education and the creation of opportunities.

After he became a born again Christian and made suggestions to the pastor of his church on how to use church funds to help the disadvantaged was spurned, he knew he must personally do what he believes in.

The founder said further that “the failure of our society to take care of the unfortunate ones has led to the emergence of groups such as Boko Haram and Al Qaeda creating problems for the world.”

With a school that is up to the final year of the junior high school programme attached to the orphanage, the school is also offering practical technical and vocational skills training to the children.

These include automobile engineering for which he has a diagnostic machine which enables the children to identify problems with a car and repair it.

In addition, the orphanage has almost completed a boys’ hostel which the students, as part of their practical training, were heavily involved in construction.

He explained that one of the students, who is technically gifted, supervised the project and fabricated the burglarproof windows and such items.

Currently, a massive five story building is under construction, and when completed, it will house the vocational and technical education departments.

The home also takes care of 180 disabled persons and 34 aged in addition to the children.

He expressed his appreciation to Goldstreet Business for making a difference in the lives of the children ahead of this year’s  Easter festivities.
–
By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He said some of the local high skilled mine workers knew specific areas where the gold is and might go back there alone for the gold when they are retrenched.

The Deputy Minister was speaking at the signing of the Ahafo Social Responsibility Forum (ASRF) Agreement between Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) and the 10 mine-take communities of the Ahafo mine at Kenyasi in Asutifi District of Brong-Ahafo Region, in Sunyani.

The 53-member ASRF, made up of representatives of NGGL, Traditional Councils, the District Assembly, community groups and non-governmental organisations in the 10 mine-take communities was established in 2007.

It represents the people in the mine’s catchment areas, in planning and executing of the company’s social responsibility programmes.

Mr Effa-Baafi said mining companies were facing numerous challenges because of the decline in gold price on the international market but suggested that the companies should consider reducing costs which do not go into actual mining.

The Deputy Minister said the intention of NGGL to lay-off 500-600 workers in the coming months in the bid to sustain viable operations in the country would have dare consequences on the affected workers and their dependents.

“I hope the company will retrench those who do little work in the mine and collect huge salaries”, he said.

He appealed to the Ghana Chamber of Mines to come out with suggestions on how mining companies could help control illegal mining by sponsoring prospective small scale miners.

While appealing to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to establish their district mining committees to oversee mining activities in their areas, Mr Effa-Baafi appealed to traditional rulers to support the MMDAs to properly manage mining activities in their areas.

General Manager of the Ahafo Mine, Mr Jeop Coenen said the price of gold remained low while costs kept on soaring to levels that require the company to do something to continue to operate.

Source: GNA

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A statement signed by the Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG in Accra, Isaac Bampoe Addo noted that they were not told at the conception and inception of the SSPP, that the implementation of the policy would include retrenchment in the public service.

He said the report, which formed the basis of the policy as well as the Technical Committee established by the Ministry of Public Sector Reform on the SSPP did not include any retrenchment clause as part of the framework.

The statement said the briefing notes prepared by the Technical Team in April, 2009 for the Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning and Employment and Social Welfare and the government’s own white paper issued in November 2009 on the implementation of SSPP did not mention retrenchment.

The statement said: “It is therefore puzzling that the government is intending to introduce retrenchment in the public services as part of the implementation of the SSPP,” and said CLOGSAG would not sit back and watch any killer policy on its members.

It said if the policy becomes a reality the association would advise itself.

Source: GNA

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