Mr George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mining, has allayed the fears of workers at the Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) of possible collapse.
He stressed that initiatives undertaken by the government would guarantee long-term survival of the Company.
The future of the company, he said, had been a subject of discussion in the media in recent times after the Company’s major shareholder pulled out.
He said the exit of the investor created uncertainties, with some workers threatening to embark on a demonstration if government failed to come to their aid.
The Ministry, in a series of meetings with the Ghana Mines Workers Union and other key stakeholders assured the workers of government’s commitment to ensure that the Company operated at optimum level.
Following a number of engagement with investors and other key government institutions on the issue, Mr Mireku Duker announced that “a headway” had been found and that the company would continue operations.
He said government would in due course announce the decision reached and believed would bring hope to the workers.
Mr Mireku Duker made this known at a meeting held at the Company’s premises at Awaso in the Western North Region.
“This engagement is to let us acknowledge all the efforts we have made regarding the continuity of GBC and its affiliates.”One of the legs of GBC has the intents of offloading its shares and government created the environment for that to happen. As the Deputy Minister, I can boldly say that “We have gone through the entire process and the future is bright.
“In due course, the entity the shares was offloaded to will be made known by the sector Minister.
“The respect you accorded us when we came here and how you have managed and comported yourselves is highly impressive.
“You have been able to control the workforce and continue operations of the mine”, he maintained.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Mr. Michael Ansah, lauded the timely intervention of the Ministry in resolving the issue and reaffirmed the commitment of his entity to the entire process.
He also praised the management of the company for running it so far, and explained some key decisions taken by the government to prevent the closure of the company.
On his part, the Chief Executive of Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai District Assembly, Mr. Alfred Amoah, called for continuous engagements between workers and the management to ensure that a more harmonious working relation was established at the mining firm.
Ashantibiz
