Golden Star provides facilities for Atieku

Mr. Anthony Aggrey, Wassa East District Chief Executive, has urged communities to maintain projects provided them by state and private companies to motivate them to provide more.

He said the benefactors would be willing to undertake projects in communities that took good care of their facilities and put them to good use than in communities that did not.

Mr Aggrey was inaugurating five projects constructed by Golden Star (Wassa) Limited at Atieku in the Wassa East District.

They are a Police Station; Health Centre; Classroom block with library staff common room, head teacher’s office, and store room; a four-seater aqua privy public place of convenience for the Atieku District Assembly (D/A) Primary School; and three boreholes fitted with manual hand pumps for the community.

These projects, together with other projects such as teachers and nurses quarters, are estimated at $551,000.

Mr. Aggrey urged the people to own the projects to ensure their sustainability.

He said the district was a deprived area and needed more facilities so the district assembly would collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that it obtained relevant facilities.

Mr. Emmanuel Dadzie, Operations manager of the Golden Star (Wassa) Limited, in-charge of production, said the commissioned projects were to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the resettlement of the Togbekrom Community at Atieku.

He said the resettlement was the result of the need to construct “a new tailings storage facility for the operations of Golden Star (Wassa) Limited”.

Mr. Dadzie said the resettlement involved the relocation of 28 villages and hamlets and over 700 people.

The Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alex Quainoo, asked the public to collaborate with the Police and volunteer information on criminal activities.

He said the Police would protect the identity of the informants.

DCOP Quainoo urged the Atieku Community to form Neighbourhood Watchdog Committee and to submit the names of members of the committee to the Police for screening and basic training.

He advised the police personnel who would man the Atieku Police Station to respect the people, to be civil and not to turn the station into a “Gold mine”.

Madam Priscilla Amoah, Wassa East District Director of Health, thanked the Golden Star (Wassa) Limited for the health centre and commended the company for supporting the district’s national immunization programme.

She advised the people to wash their hands regularly with soap and keep their environment clean to prevent cholera infection.

Mr. Ernest Afeku, an assistant director of education at the District Directorate of Education, said competent teachers would be posted to Atieku D/A Primary School.