The Managing Director (MD) of Golden Exotics Limited (GEL), Benedict John Rich, has assured the people of Shai Osudoku in Greater Accra Region of his company’s continued support and commitment to accelerating infrastructure development in the district, while positively impacting the lives of its inhabitants and other communities surrounding its banana plantations.
According to him, the company as part of its corporate social responsibility activities has initiated various projects – some completed and others ongoing – in a bid to give back to society.
“I am happy to announce the completion of 32 projects initiated by the company. I also want to inform you that the Vocational Training Centre workshop at Osuwem has been completed and will be handed over to the relevant authorities. This will enable the centre to be operational, and we hope to see the first batch of its students enrolled by first quarter-2024,” he added.
He further indicated that a 14-unit classroom block with offices, a staff common room and a teacher’s bungalow for the Roman Catholic and District Assembly (DA) school in Kasunya have been fully refurbished.
He made these observations during a grand ceremony to unveil a six-unit classroom block at the Roman Catholic (RC) Basic School at Lubuse, followed by the inauguration of two modern teachers and nurses’ bungalows at Duffor and Adakorpe respectively in the Shai Osudoku district. The projects are fully all financed by GEL Banana Farm Fairtrade.
He also indicated that refurbishment of the maternal health department of Osudoku Health Centre has been completed, and will be furnished with state-of-the-art medical equipment for children in the community. “It will be handed over before end-January 2024,” he added.
Furthermore, he said, as part of GEL’s corporate social responsibility, it has repainted the Akuse Hospital and Osudoku Health Centre – assuring that it will continue to support health-related activities.
“This year, GEL’s health screening programme around the communities was very successful and attracted over 3,500 persons. It also catered for the renewal of their NHIS cards for free; and with the recent Akosombo and Kpong Dams’ spillage, we donated some medical items to support Osudoku Health Centre in taking care of those affected by the floods,” he elaborated.
As the company concurrently marks its 20th anniversary and 10th anniversary of being certified as a Fairtrade company, he stated that it will continue striving toward its vision of expand production and becoming a leading banana grower and exporter in the world.
In attendance at the ceremony were representatives of the health and education directorates of Shai Osudoku District Assembly (SODA), chiefs and queen-mothers of the Osudoku traditional area, opinion leaders of Lubuse, Duffor, Adakorpe and many others.
Road infrastructure GEL’s MD bemoaned the terrible state of roads – riddled with pot-holes – leading to the district. He noted that GEL, with its limited resources, has attempted to do some spot-repairs to enable the roads become motorable, but to little effect.
“This year, we have spent around GH¢1.8m just to make the road a little motorable. We want to urge government to consider immediate repair of the roads for the people, industries and businesses located here,” he added.
Shai Osudoku’s District Director of Health, Dr. Ebenezer Asiamah, noted that GEL’s infrastructural support to the district’s health directorate is a step in the right direction, as it will expedite its drive toward achieving universal health coverage (UHC), which aims to ensure that people have equal access to quality health care without suffering financial hardship.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Shai Osudoku, Fred Offei, in his closing remarks expressed gratitude to GEL for the massive infrastructure development it is undertaking in the district, and the employment opportunities it continues to create for the youth.
