HELP REPAIR TARKWA ROADS...MCE appeals to mining companies (PAGE 22, OCT 8, 2010)

THE Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mrs Christina Kobina, has appealled to mining companies operating in the municipality to intervene in the rehabilitation of the Tarkwa town roads since the situation is assuming embarrassing proportions.
“Desperate situations call for desperate measures and l would like to appeal for assistance to improve Tarkwa town roads,” she emphasised.
Mrs Kobina made the appeal at the zone three safety and first aid competition which was organised under the auspices of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, the inspectorate division of the Minerals Commission and Gold Fields Ghana (Tarkwa Mine) Limited at Tarkwa.
Mining companies which participated in the competition are Gold Fields Ghana (Tarkwa Mine), Ghana Manganese Company (GMC), Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea Mine) Limited and AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem Mine) Limited.
Mrs Kobina stated that the situation was assuming embarrassing proportions and that something urgent needed to be done whilst waiting on the central government to assist.
She said the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly had taken the issue up with the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Urban Roads in Accra, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, stressing that something urgent had been conceived.
“However, until that comes, we in the town and the municipality are those suffering. I stay here, most of you and your staff stay here and the situation is simply unbearable,” she stressed.
Mrs Kobina acknowledged that Gold Fields Ghana and other companies pay their taxes to the government, in addition to their social responsibility commitments to their communities, adding “All that notwithstanding, Tarkwa town roads need the intervention of the mining companies in and around Tarkwa”.
She commended Gold Fields Ghana and the other mining companies for the good work they have done in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, stressing
The General Manager of Gold Fields Ghana (Tarkwa Mine) Limited, Mr Alfred Baku, explained that the competition was an annual event by the various mining companies to demonstrate how the companies were prepared in case of any accident at the mines.
He said Gold Fields Ghana was committed to the theme of the competition, which was: “If it must be mined, it must be mined safely,” and would do everything possible to achieve the objective.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Joyce Aryee in an address read on her behalf, expressed concern about the use of cyanides by illegal gold miners in processing gold in the various communities.
She said that needed urgent attention, and therefore, called on the National Security to take the necessary steps to nip the “worrying situation in the bud”.
 AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem Mine) came first with 81.5 points at the end of the competition, followed by Gold Fields Ghana with 72 points, while Ghana Manganese Company placed third with 71 points, with Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea Mine) placing fourth with 56.5 points.
AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem Mine), therefore, qualified to represent zone three in the national competition.