ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI HONOURS 217 EMPLOYEES (PAGE 30, DEC 30, 2010)

ANGLOGOLD Ashanti (Iduapriem Mine) Limited has honoured 217 of its employees in acknowledgement of their hard work, steadfastness, honesty and diligence of service rendered to the mining company.
The workers, who have worked between five years and 20 years received a total of 116 table top fridges, 35 double-door fridges, 30 deep freezers, 20 21-inch colour television sets, 20 bags of cement, five four-burner gas cookers and 19.5 packets of roofing sheets, all valued at GH¢100,000.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem Mine) Limited, Mr Billy Mawasha, said the long service awards commenced in 1995 to reward deserving employees who had served between five and 30 years.
He said in 2004, the qualifying years for the award was changed to five, 10, 15 and 20 years of service and so was the value of items.
Mr Billy Mawasha said the company believed that “people are the business and it is for this reason that the company has this time round put premium in honouring its employees who have demonstrated commitment to duty, even in difficult and good times alike all over the years.”
“The loyalty and dedication of our employees came to the fore when we were faced with the tailings storage facility challenge,” he said, adding that “employees galvanised themselves to quickly provide an interim tailings storage facility which has kept us going thus far.”
“Indeed, the concern and support from employees to management during those challenging times was up and beyond, for which we say ‘ayekoo’ to the gallant workers of Iduapriem,” he stressed.
Mr Mawasha emphasised that their continued commitment over the years represented the foundation of the future they were striving to achieve for Iduapriem and urged the workers to put in everything to enable the company to achieve its annual target of 20 days additional bonus.
The managing director said the recognition should serve as a motivation for them to work even harder and smarter to change the fortunes of the company, adding that “there is still work to be done. Long service award, however, does not mean retirement. It is just a token of our appreciation for the value you have added to Iduapriem over this years.”
Mr Mawasha assured the workers that the company would continue to create a conducive environment for employees to reach the highest level in their career, and that it would not relent in its effort to ensure that welfare programmes designed for the workers were sustained and improved upon as the company produced more to justify the increase.