The Ghana Manganese Company (GMC) at Nsuta has extended a hand of friendship to the Western Region Chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association, (GJA) by donating five laptops and five tablets towards the association’s awards program.
The items, estimated about twenty one thousand Ghana cedis (21,000ghc) were provided in response to an appeal by the association to the manganese mining company.
Presenting the items, the Human Resource and Administrative Manager of GMC, Wisdom Adjei Mensah extolled the invaluable role of the media in bridging the gap between the mining industry and their host communities through the provision of accurate and timely information.
According to him, companies such as the GMC undertake lots of value added initiative by of corporate social responsibility in addition to their statutory obligations. However, some of these tangible and socially beneficial program are seemingly under reported.
Mr. Adjei Mensah therefore stressed the need for collaboration between the media and the GMC mutually beneficial engagement.
This he said will enable the various publics and the key stakeholders to appreciate their contribution to national development.
Touching on challenges, Mr. Adjei Mensah said getting their material to the port is their major headache due the state off the railways.
According to him, they have no option than to use the road like all others which also has it’s own challenges and implications.
These include the huge cost and delay compared to rail which is faster, cheaper and safer. Besides these challenges, GMC is also undertaking other exploratory activities with the view to increasing the life of the mine.
For his part, the Western Region Chairman of the GJA, Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu explained that, the media has the dual responsibility of reporting both the negative and the positive.
It in line with this, the the Western Region Chapter of the GJA is charting a course of honouring practitioners who are always guided by set standards and ethics of the profession in their reportage in various categories including responsible mining.
He called on corporate entities to support the media, who as the mirrors of society seeks only the wellbeing of the people.
The awards ceremony, which is under the theme:, “Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility; Moving from Handout to Legacy Projects – Role of the Gatekeeper” will take place on November 9, 2019 at the Best Western Plus Atlantic Hotel.
