The Ghana Chamber of Mines has presented ten thousand Ghana cedis (GH₵10,00) to the Tamale Dakpema Educational Endowment Fund.
In the next three years, the Chamber will provide 10,000 Ghana cedis to the fund to support needy but brilliant junior high school students qualified to enter into the various senior high schools in the country.
The Chamber’s commitment to the Dakpema educational fund follows its team visit to the Tamale Dakpema palace in March this year after it held stakeholders meeting in the northern region on pertinent issues in the mining sector.
Presenting the cheque to the Tamale Dakpema, Alhassan Mohammed Dawuni, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemanu Koney said, the Chamber’s decision to support the fund was based on critical role traditional rulers play in improving the livelihoods of their people.
“Education is the key if we want to prevent deviant behaviors and crime; education is a sure way to give hope to the youth to reach whatever heights they hope to achieve,” Mr Koney emphasized.
Mr. Koney said producing member companies had spent nearly 5 million US dollars on education within their catchment areas under their cooperate social investment policies in 2015.
Mr Sulemanu said the natural resources being mined by companies belong to every citizen of Ghana and the people in the northern region are no exception.
The Tamale Dakpema thanked the Ghana Chamber of Mines for their support and suggested to them to extend their three years period of support.
The Dakpema said even though the fund was meant for JHS students, some tertiary needy students had benefited because of the essential courses they were pursuing at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana medical schools.
He commended the chamber of mines for prioritizing education to help the needy aspire to achieve their ambitions to help mother Ghana.
The Dakpema described the presentation as timely because the fund struggles financially to support the applications of several JHS students who had been admitted into various senior high schools this year.
Mr. Koney was accompanied by Mr. Ahmed D. Nantogmah, director of public affairs and environment, and Mr. Kenneth Bayelle, assistant community relations officer at Zuma mines in Wa in the Upper West Region.