Accra, April 20, GNA - The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has expressed the hope that transparency; respect for human rights and compliance with the laws would engender peaceful coexistence between corporate bodies and communities in which they operated. He said responsible disposition of operators, compliance with regulations and cultural practices would create a win-win situation for corporate bodies and the communities.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who was addressing top Executives of Anglogold Ashanti at a reception held in his honour in Johannesburg, expressed the hope that the current initiatives being pursued by Anglogold Ashanti would continue to deepen the relevance of the new Company to the environment, the employees, the community and Ghana.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday said the Asantehene commended the Company for the major push it was giving to value addition to gold.

He said he saw in the youth programme, which had sent a Ghanaian jeweller to hold a series of workshops for South African youth, as an initiative "which must be continuously nurtured to create additional job openings to the teeming millions of the unemployed youth spread all over the Continent (Africa)".

Otumfuo Osei Tutu expressed the hope that the time would come when appropriately sized gold chains would replace the dog chains and other strange wares that the youth peddle on the streets.

While underlining that the AngloGold Ashanti initiative truly marked the beginning of a much greater cooperation between Ghana and South Africa, the Asantehene pledged that he would engage other African traditional leaders while in South Africa in confronting the challenge of applying their influence towards the promotion of the rapid modernization of their respective economies, the social sector development agenda and a new African personality on the world stage. As part of his 10-day programme in South Africa, Otumfuo and his delegation would visit the Mponeng Mine, the Gold Museum and a Jewellery factory.

The Asantehene would also address the National House of Traditional Leaders and the Supreme Council of the Kingdom of Bafokeng.