Dependants of mine workers being supported

Accra, Feb. 5, GNA- Two-hundred and fifty Senior High School students have benefited from a scholarship scheme, initiated by the Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Mr Prince William Ankrah, General Secretary of GMWU, who said this during an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday in Accra, said the students are wards of mineworkers in the country. He said the beneficiaries would get GH¢150 per student annually under the scheme, which started four years ago.

Mr Ankrah said the union is in the process of commencing an Information Communication Technology (ITC) and long distance learning programme to upgrade the miner's educational back ground.

He said the Bogoso Golden Star Resources, a mining company, is supporting the initiative with an amount of 41,000 US dollars, and that, the total cost of the project is about gh¢220,000.

Mr Ankrah said the Ghana Manganese Company and other mining institutions have expressed ther desire to contribute towards the completion of the ITC project which is expected to be in operation by early next year. He said the GMWU is also planning a sustainable development conference, aimed at ensuring that part of the mining companies' earnings benefits the wider society. He said the conference forms part of the unions' 60th anniversary celebrations with the theme -"Rethinking Mining Investment and Sustainable development".