This award recognizes Newmont Ghana for:

• Consistently meeting its tax obligations
• Complying with Ghana’s tax laws and the company’s
• Willingness to support the GRA’s tax collection and compliance improvement initiatives.

Newmont Ghana’s operations in Ahafo and Akyem contributed over GHc 560 million in taxes, royalties and levies to the Government through the Ghana Revenue Authority, bringing its total tax payments since 2004 to about GHc 2.8 billion. The 2017 payments consisted of GHc 264 million in Corporate Income Tax, GHc138 million in Mineral Royalty, GHc 94 million in Pay As You Earn (PAYE), GHc 56 million in Withholding Tax, and GHc16 million in Forestry Levy.

“We are honoured to be recognized for our contributions to national development last year. It is rewarding to see that our continued partnership with the Government and other stakeholders is creating shared value for our communities and the broader Ghanaian community,” said Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Chief Financial Officer – Newmont Africa.

Beyond meeting its tax obligations to the Government, Newmont Ghana also supports the nation’s growth through employment opportunities and local content development. As at 2016, Newmont’s total workforce at its Ahafo and Akyem mines comprised of 39.2% and 47.1% of community locals, exceeding its targets of 24% and 35%, respectively. Additionally, the company purchased about US$18 million in goods and services from local businesses and US$300 million from other Ghanaian suppliers.

“We will continue to support the implementation of Ghana’s tax administration and legislations and believe that through the ongoing collaboration with the Government of Ghana, our regulators and host communities, Newmont Ghana will continue to operate sustainably to keep creating value and improving the lives of the people of Ghana,” says Mr. Addo-Kufuor.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This year, 942 companies participated in RobecoSAM’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment, which evaluates and ranks the highest-scoring companies on the DJSI. Newmont was the first gold company named to the index in 2007, and has been included on the DJSI North America Index every year since 2006.

“This milestone demonstrates our commitment to building a safer, more inclusive, ethical and responsible business that continues to drive sustainable economic and social development in our host communities, responsibly manage the environment, and provide safe working conditions for our employees and solid returns for our stakeholders,” said Alwyn Pretorius, Regional Senior Vice President of Newmont Africa.

In addition to being ranked the overall industry leader in the metals and mining sector, Newmont received the highest score (100^th percentile) in a number of areas, including Impact Measurement and Valuation; Policy Influence; Biodiversity; Environmental Policy and Management Systems; Water-related Risks; Asset Closure Management; Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy; and Labor Practice Indicators. Newmont also achieved the metals and mining industry’s best overall scores in the economic, environmental and social dimensions.

Since it commenced operations in Ghana, Newmont has instituted a number of social investment programmes in its operational areas in Akyem and Ahafo. In 2016, the company invested about $4 million in its host communities through in-kind and monetary support. This includes contributions to its community development foundations, Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) and Newmont Akyem Development Foundation (NAkDeF).

Mr. Pretorius maintains that the company’s contribution to the socioeconomic growth of the nation was a factor in Newmont’s third time recognition by the DJSI as the world’s leader in sustainability.

“Our employees and stakeholders have been very instrumental in ensuring that we uphold the high sustainability standards we have committed ourselves to and I would like to acknowledge them as well for their continuous support.” Mr. Pretorius added.

Earlier this year, NADeF was recognised as the Corporate Foundation Philanthropist of the Year by the National Philanthropy Forum. The award acknowledges the Foundation’s significant impact on the Ghanaian society through its philanthropic projects in the areas of health, education and infrastructure development within the Ahafo catchment area.

As a result of its commitment to reducing the impact of its operations on the environment, the Akyem Mine and the Forestry Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate the second phase of the Akyem mine’s reforestation project that involves planting various tree species on 256 hectares in the Kweikaru Forest Reserve. This is to meet the company’s commitment of replacing by threefold the 101 hectares of the Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve impacted by the mine’s operations.

“Newmont remains committed to best practices, living our values and realising our purpose of creating shared value and improving lives through sustainable and responsible mining.” He said.

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Source: Newmont

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The Kenyasi No. 2 Youth Association conducted a demonstration to express their concerns about youth unemployment, community investment opportunities, and environmental management.

In response, Bernard Wessels, General Manager of Newmont Ghana’s Ahafo mine, addressed the concerns raised by reiterating the company’s commitment to serve as a catalyst for local economic development and as a responsible steward of the environment.

“We will continue engaging the youth groups and others in nearby communities regarding our hiring policies and current and future employment needs through transparent and respectful stakeholder engagement,” said Mr. Wessels.

Work hasn’t been significantly affected though we have currently halted mining operations for safety reasons so we do not put people in harm’s way. However, we are continuing with plant operations.

In line with Newmont Ghana’s commitment to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, the public enforcement agencies deployed to guide the demonstrators and protect the company’s workforce and assets have been informed about respecting and protecting the human rights of the demonstrators and operating within the rules of engagement in enforcing public order. Additionally, the Asutifi North District Police Commander has briefed representatives of the Ahafo Mine and the demonstrating youth on the public peace and asset protection approach and respecting the Public Order Act requirements.

Since the commencement of active mining, the Ahafo mine has generated significant economic stimulus, social and institutional development and infrastructure investment.

Out of a workforce of 2,538, about 40 percent are from Ahafo Mine’s 10 host communities. The Apprenticeship programme that was instituted to provide employable skills in mining related disciplines to local community youth has trained 130 persons out of which 96 have been employed by Newmont and its business partners.

Following the approval of two expansion projects – the Subika Underground Project and Ahafo Mill Expansion – further employment opportunities have been offered to community youth. Africa Underground Mining Services, the Ahafo mine’s business partner in the Subika Underground Project, has so far recruited 230 Ghanaian nationals out of which 101 (48 percent) are locals from the mine’s host communities.

Also, the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF), which is the main driver for social investment programmes in the host communities, has accrued GHC 57.1 million while executing more than 100 projects and disbursing 8,000 community scholarship.

As a responsible corporate citizen, we work closely with regulatory bodies as well as external agencies to regularly audit our environmental management systems to ensure compliance with laid down regulations.

“We appreciate our community youth’s desire for more opportunities. We will continue to explore ways of further stimulating sustainable development in our host communities as we seek to create more value through safe and responsible mining,” Mr. Wessels concluded.

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Source: Newmont

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Recently, WACAM’s local representative in Kenyasi, Yakubu Adusah, granted interviews to some media houses warning the public  not to consume food and water near the Ahafo mine’s host communities, alleging that they have been polluted by the mine’s activities.

Alwyn Pretorius, Regional Senior Vice President, Newmont Africa, says the Ahafo mine works closely with regulatory bodies as well as external agencies to regularly audit its environmental management to ensure compliance with laid down regulations and will not condone activities that pose danger to public health.

A study by independent assessors, made up of international and local experts, is currently underway to objectively evaluate earlier research reports by WACAM regarding allegations of adverse impacts of the mine on local communities.

“We strictly adhere to our commitments and legal requirements outlined in our Environmental Impact Statement and provide regular reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding our environmental and social performance,” said Mr. Pretorius.

“It is in the interest of the public to avoid making unsubstantiated claims or speculations regarding public health and safety,” he said.

Newmont Ghana says, in line with its stated purpose, it will continue to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining.

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Source: Newmont

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The foundation beat competition from 17 other organizations to annex the top award at this year’s the 2017 Ghana Philanthropy Excellence Awards in Accra.

The award recognized the longstanding contribution of NADeF towards improving lives and supporting sustainable socio-economic development in the communities neighboring the Ahafo mine.

For 9 years, communities around Newmont Ghana’s Ahafo mine have initiated a number sustainable development projects to improve the lives of their people.

Following consultations between various interest groups in the communities and the Ahafo mine, the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation was established in 2008 to drive the company’s social responsibility commitments to the communities.

So far over 8,000 educational scholarships have been awarded at the senior high, tertiary and apprenticeship levels, in addition to over 7000 infrastructural projects completed and handed over to the communities by NAkDeF.

“We are honoured to be recognized for our efforts in improving lives and driving socio-economic progress in Ahafo. NADeF will continue to expand its programmes to help even more women and children thrive in the communities,” said Elizabeth Opoku, .

Currently, NADeF has accrued $24.5 million to fund various development initiatives through the Ahafo Mine’s contributions of $1 per ounce of gold produced and 1% annual net profit.

“What makes NADeF unique from other Corporate Foundations is the local ownership and participation in the selection, execution and management of all projects in the host communities. In effect, the locals decide what their needs are and work through NADeF to achieve them,” Elizabeth Opoku Darko added.

In 2014, NADeF was awarded the best social impact investment vehicle in Africa by the European Union’s African Chamber of Commerce at the EU-Africa Chamber of Commerce’s first annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Africa awards ceremony in Brussels, Belgium. The award highlighted the foundation’s promotion of community development, inclusiveness and sustainability in the Sub-Saharan Africa.

Through NADeF’s initiatives, about 41 public schools are benefitting from the Quality Improvement in Basic Schools (QUIBS) project set up to support the quality of education at the basic level in Ahafo. NADeF has provided start-up capital to emerging entrepreneurs and businesses, micro-credit and loan facilities to 1,500 community members and completed over a 100 community infrastructural and social amenity projects in Ahafo.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The donation was done at a short, but impressive ceremony at the Peace and Love Hospital, Baatsona, on  the Spintex road, Accra.

The cash donation is to boost BCI’s countrywide outreach programs aimed at educating and creating awareness about breast cancer through free breast screening.

Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, President of BCI, and CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals, said the amount would bolster the campaign and was highly appreciative of Newmont because the humanitarian gesture was both at the instance, and on the volition of the Multinational Company.

The chairperson of the Accra Chapter of Women and Allies, Newmont Ghana, Neringa Berzinkaskaite, and the Chairperson of the Akyem Chapter, Elizabeth Hazel, were unanimous the donation was in line with their corporate social responsibility in reaching out to human centered organizations whose core objects were in line with those of Newmont, and commended BCI for the sustained campaign against breast cancer, which they believed, had impacted positively on the public.

MTN/ THE ARKO FOUNDATION

Elsewhere in the Ashanti region, a delegation of Telecom giant MTN, led by the Manager of the Northern sector, Mrs. Afrakoma Baah Obeng has paid a courtesy call on Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai at the Head office of BCI in Kumasi to familiarize themselves with operations of the facility and to explore ways of corporation between the two.

The BCI team, led by Dr. Wiafe, walked them through the various stages of breast cancer treatment and reiterated the urgent need to intensify the public education drive in a bid to reduce the incidence of the disease while fighting off ignorance and stigmatization.

She charged corporate Ghana to assist BCI in whatever way possible to intensify the awareness creation exercise as poverty and ignorance combine to claim lives of some afflicted women.

A co-sponsored free breast screening program by BCI and the “Arkoh foundation” (an offshoot of BCI) , at the Africa Hall of The  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST, followed the visit, and was at the instance of the Ladies Wing of the Harvest Chapel International, where Mrs. Baah Obeng, doubles as the leader.

Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai noted that the “primary consideration is to connect with schools and communities across the country for breast abnormalities”

The BCI outreach team encouraged the student population and the faithful to periodically examine their own breasts and report any abnormality to health facilitIes for further examination.

Dr. Wiafe charged them to be ambassadors of the breast cancer public education program and help spread the news that breast cancer is both treatable and survivable if detected early.

ABURI SCREENING

And in the Eastern region, a well-attended free breast screening in the tourist town of Aburi climaxed the week of free breast screening programs by BCI.

The community was screened for diabetes among other non- communicable diseases which research has established as silent killers.

A public education at the Wesley Methodist church by Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai preceded the free breast screening.

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Credit:   Breast Cancer International

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In particular, the Association recognised the company’s efforts at helping build the capacity of local businesses and promoting the procurement of goods and services from indigenous suppliers.

Newmont Ghana has been at the forefront of encouraging local procurement since it commenced business in 2006.

The company ensures that Ghanaian-owned companies are considered for contracts through fair and transparent processes, and holds capacity building programmes for local businesses in its Ahafo and Akyem host communities. This makes it possible for local companies to provide business support to the mines and other businesses across Ghana.

The AGI also lauded Newmont Ghana for advancing extensive community development programmes in its Ahafo host communities through the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation.

“Hiring and sourcing locally is an integral part of our operations at Newmont and we are happy that our various local content initiatives are achieving the right results,” said George Brakoh, Newmont Ghana’s Regional Manager, Local Business.

In 2007, the Ahafo mine collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to establish an intervention known as the Ahafo Linkages Programme (ALP) to support the development of local businesses as potential suppliers and providers of goods and services to the mine. The programme was also aimed at supporting the development of local non-mining businesses to develop a diversified local economy outside the mining sector.

“So far, we have awarded contracts to about 500 local businesses within our host communities through the ALP and other programmes, with two of the companies, Alexiboam Company Ltd and Sarfpok Ltd, going on to receive industry recognition for their work with us,” Mr. Brakoh added.

The Ahafo Linkages Programme (ALP) has been recognized by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as Best Practice SME Linkages/Sustainability Project.

According to Mr. Brakoh, Newmont Ghana is playing a leading role in the development of a long-term national sustainable policy and supplier development programme for the mining industry to help promote sourcing from local businesses within the mining industry and beyond.

“We are working with the Ghana Chamber of mines to support local businesses within the mining sector and ensure that a significant portion of the industry’s procurement is sourced from indigenous companies. Already, we are making strides in this regard and the future can only be brighter,” he concluded.

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Source: Newmont Ghana

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All cheque books have been collected from the pharmacy accountant following the hospital management’s decision to take over the purchasing of drugs from the pharmacists.

This was made known in a letter to the Director of Pharmacy which consequently resulted in the demonstration on Tuesday.

More than 70 pharmacists of the hospital disclosed their displeasure at the new directive in a peaceful protest at the over 14 Pharmacy units of the hospital.

The letter, dated June 5, 2014, indicated that per the new directive from the hospital’s board, all suppliers of the Pharmacy department would be paid centrally at the Finance directorate.

“By reason of this, you are to give the cheque books of all the accounts of the Pharmacy Department and the list of creditors to the Director of Finance on Monday 9 th June, for the necessary action,” the letter stated directed.

Raymond Tetteh, the spokesperson of the team, said that when the group received the notification from the board, a petition requesting a dialogue between the pharmacists and officials was sent to the board, only for them to realize that the board had gone ahead with its decision of taking over the payments of suppliers. This act according to the pharmacists is wrong in relation to the stores regulation act 1984 under departmental responsibilities.

“Supply functions may not be delegated to officers who are not members of the supply class without the prior approval of the supply and stores inspectorate, ministry of finance. Registered pharmacists may however perform supply functions where drugs and pharmaceuticals are concerned in accordance with statutory requirements without the prior approval of the supply and stores inspectorate. Such pharmacies shall perform their supply functions in strict compliance with all regulations connected with government stores.”

Mr. Tetteh stated that the Pharmacy department has been able to run this account all this while without any difficulties, “but they now want to take over the mandatory signature and spend the money without our knowledge.”

He noted that the account has three signatories, the Director of Pharmacy, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Finance Director, and “now they mean that we should work and generate funds for them so they might as well work for us and play our role as pharmacists.”

He stressed that the group has asked the board to meet with them over the issue as they could not generate funds for someone who little knowledge on pharmacy operations.

The group had earlier accused the acting CEO; Rev Albert Botchwey, the board chairman, Eddy Annan and the entire management of the hospital of stalling activities at the pharmacies including taking over procurement of pharmaceutical products.

“We come to work; we don’t have medicines to supply to patients. People have supplied us with medicines we can’t pay, we can’t obtain medicines either,” one unit head lamented.

They are demanded the reason for the discrimination since all other health institutions in Ghana operate under the same policy which has been implemented across the country since 1989.

They also made three demands which was to be met within 72 hours after the demonstration on Tuesday.

They want the cheques which were taken from the pharmacy accountant office should be returned.

They want a clarification from the Minister of Health on the issue of the mandatory signatory to the drug account.

Lastly, they want the board chairman to give a copy of the “so called messy audit report to study and act since management had said the earlier decision was taken as a result of a lot of wrong doing in the purchase of items.”

By: Afiba Anyanzua Anyanzu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London found women had larger waistlines if their bedroom was “light enough to see across” at night.

However, they caution there is not enough evidence to advise people to buy thicker curtains or turn off lights.

The study of 113,000 women was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The women were asked to rate the amount of light in their bedrooms at night as:

• Light enough to read
• Light enough to see across the room, but not read
• Light enough to see your hand in front of you, but not across the room
• Too dark to see your hand or you wear a mask

Their answers were compared to several measures of obesity. Body Mass Index, waist-to-hip ratio and waist circumference were all higher in women with lighter rooms.

Prof Anthony Swerdlow, from the Institute of Cancer Research, told the BBC: “In this very large group of people there is an association between reported light exposure at night and overweight and obesity.

“But there is not sufficient evidence to know if making your room darker would make any difference to your weight.

“There might be other explanations for the association, but the findings are intriguing enough to warrant further scientific investigation.”

Body Clock

One possible explanation is that the light is disrupting the body clock, which stems from our evolutionary past when we were active when it was light in the day and resting when it was dark at night.

Light alters mood, physical strength and even the way we process food in a 24-hour cycle.

Artificial light is known to disrupt the body clock by delaying the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

Prof Derk-Jan Dijk, from the Surrey Sleep Centre, said there would be no harm in trying to make bedrooms darker.

He told the BBC: “People in general are not aware of the light present in their bedroom, I think people should assess their bedroom and see how easy it would be to make it darker.”

Street lights, some alarm clocks and standby lights on electrical equipment such as televisions could light a room, he said.

“Overall this study points to the importance of darkness,” he concluded.

Cancer

The study was funded by Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the findings emerged from a long-term study to understand the risk factors for breast cancer. Obesity is known to increase the odds of the disease.

Dr Matthew Lam, from the charity, commented: “It’s too early to suggest that sleeping in the dark will help prevent obesity, a known risk factor for breast cancer, but the association is certainly interesting.

“Whilst we are learning more and more each day about the environmental, genetic and lifestyle factors that affect breast cancer risk, it is not yet possible to predict who will get breast cancer, and for women who have been diagnosed with the disease, we can’t yet say what caused it.”

Source: BBC

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Scientists in the US compared entries about conditions such as heart disease, lung cancer, depression and diabetes with peer-reviewed medical research.

They said most articles in Wikipedia contained “many errors”.

Wikimedia UK, its British arm, said it was “crucial” that people with health concerns spoke to their GP first.

Open-access ‘concerns’

The online encyclopaedia is a charity, and has 30 million articles in 285 languages.

It can be edited by anybody, but many volunteers from the medical profession check the pages for inaccuracies, said Wikimedia UK.

The open-access nature has “raised concern” among doctors about its reliability, as it is the sixth most popular site on the internet, the US authors of the research, published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, said.

Up to 70% of physicians and medical students use the tool, they say.

The 10 researchers across America looked at online articles for 10 of the “most costly” conditions in the US, including osteoarthritis, back problems and asthma.

They printed off the articles on 25 April 2012 to analyse, and discovered that 90% of the entries made statements that contradicted latest medical research.

Lead author Dr Robert Hasty, of the Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine in North Carolina, said: “While Wikipedia is a convenient tool for conducting research, from a public health standpoint patients should not use it as a primary resource because those articles do not go through the same peer-review process as medical journals.”

Dr Hasty added the “best resource” for people worried about their health was their doctor.

Contact GP ‘first’

Stevie Benton, at Wikimedia UK, said there were a “number of initiatives” in place to help improve the articles, “especially in relation to health and medicine”.

He said the charity had a project to bring together volunteer Wikipedia editors with a medical knowledge to identify articles that need improvement, find credible sources and make entries more “accurate and more readable”.

Mr Benton said Wikipedia was also working with Cancer Research UK to review cancer-related articles by clinical researchers and writers to keep them accurate and up-to-date.

But he added: “However, it is crucial that anybody with concerns over their health contacts their GP as a first point of call. Wikipedia, like any encyclopaedia, should not take the place of a qualified medical practitioner.”

Wikipedia also expressed concern at the small sample size used in the research, as it may not be representative.

The study did not account for Wikipedia leaving out important information.

Source: BBC

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