New Abirem (E/R), March 15, GNA - A 60-member social responsibility forum to sustain development principle in the communities for the Newmont Akyem Gold mining project has been inaugurated at New Abirem in the Birim North District.

The forum has representatives from the mining company, regional and district authorities, traditional leaders, youth, non governmental organizations and representatives from women groups from the affected mining communities.

The objectives of the forum are to ensure that community development discussions take place in a cordial and harmonious atmosphere, ensure adequate community consultation on priority community investment partnership and to enhance capacity partnership engagement. Others are promoting effective partnership for development of the Akyem project and mobilization of resources and support for sustainable development in the communities.

In his inaugural address the Community Development Manager of the Newmont Akyem project, Mr Felix Apoh, said the forum was to take decisions on behalf of their designated communities at meetings according to the mandate given to them.

He said government representatives on the forum would provide technical advice to all other parties and to ensure compliance with the country's laws. The General Manager in charge of the Newmount Akyem project, Dr Helen Macdonald, said the vision of Newmount was to engage stakeholders to develop programmes that would improve the lives of the people in the communities directly affected by the project. She said the Akyem project initiative entailed efforts to help establish sustainable community development as part of the process of building a gold mine in the area in collaborative partnership with the communities, district assembly and other private sector. Dr Macdonald said the forum would follow the existing partnership approach to sustain community development that was embarked upon in 2008. The District Chief Executive, Mr Napoleon Amoako Asiamah who is the chairman of the forum, called on all stakeholders to unite and co-operate with each other to implement projects. He said the assembly would establish a vocational training centre in the district to train the unskilled youth to gain employment in the mining company.

The Queen of the Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area, Nana Akua Asantewa, appealed to management of the mining company to build a hospital and also ensure adequate compensation of all crops and property to be destroyed during their operations.