By P.K. Yankey
Bamiankor (W/R), Sept. 09, GNA – The Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) has as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS), commissioned a 20,000-litre community water system valued at GHC230,000 for the people of Bamiankor and surrounding communities in the Nzema-East Municipality of the Western Region.
The gesture formed part of efforts to assist communities in their catchment area to access potable water supply and help to end perennial water challenges within those areas.
During the official commissioning and handing-over ceremony of the project at Bamiankor, Mr Perry Acheampong, Corporate Affairs Manager at GREL, said the gesture formed part of company’s continued commitment to uplifting the lives of people in the communities where they operate.
He said: “GREL operates across 93 communities, and our core value of respect for all has always guided our business philosophy, and for us, CRS is not a slogan but a responsibility to ensure fairness, inclusion, and mutual growth in the communities that give us the space and support to thrive.”
He stated that GREL’s success as a business entity depended on the well-being of their host communities who must live in dignity and meet their basic needs.
“This water project is, therefore, a symbol of our shared journey where the prosperity of GREL goes hand in hand with the well-being of Bamiankor,” Mr Acheampong said.
He thanked the people of Bamiankor for their cooperation and trust, and asked them to maintain the project well and use it responsibly.
Awulae Angama-Tu Agyan, Paramount Chief of Gwira Traditional Area, thanked GREL for the project, and said it would ease the access to water burden on the people.
He also commended the organisation for executing other development projects in the area, but appealed to GREL to absorb school leavers in the area for internship programmes and national service to acquire employable skills.
Nana Kwesi Agyemang IX, Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, who is the Chairman of the Association of Chiefs on Whose Land GREL Operates (ACLANGO), asked the people to put their differences aside and embrace projects undertaken by GREL.
He said clean water cleansed the body from ailments and asked the community to take good care of the water facility.
He appealed to out-grower rubber plantation farmers to supply their products only to GREL to help boost the company’s productivity.
The Chairman of ACLANGO also asked GREL to increase the producer price of rubber to help attract more supply from smallholder farmers.
GNA
Edited by Justina Paaga/Lydia Kukua Asamoah