Ahafo (B/A), May 4, GNA - A Community Development Fund (CDF) created by mining giant, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) will continue to operate even when the company exhausts its gold reserves at the Ahafo mine site.

To this end, 10 per cent of the CDF is being invested in financial instruments to serve as an endowment fund, which will accrue interests to ensure the sustainability of the fund.

Currently NGGL had paid more than 4.7 million dollars to the fund. Mr Kwame Poku Gyan, Senior Communication Officer of NGGL, Ahafo Mine in-charge of Events and Tours made this known to newsmen who were on a two-day tour of the company's Ahafo Mine in the Brong Ahafo Region. The tour, organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines, was to enable the newsmen who were drawn from media houses in Accra, to see what the company was doing to mitigate any negate impact of its operations on the people and local communities.

He said the setting up of the CDF underscored NGGL's commitment to create livelihood and supporting sustainable community development initiatives to improve the lot of communities within its catchment areas.

Mr Gyan said the company was required under the country's mining laws to pay adequate compensation packages to affected communities adding: "However, the NGGL decided to go beyond the requirements of the mining laws by instituting the CDF to undertake sustainable community development projects in its catchment communities."

The CDF lives on a contribution of one dollar of every ounce of gold sold and one per cent of annual net profit from the NGGL's Ahafo Mine, which is run by a 53-member Ahafo Social Responsibility Forum consisting of traditional councils, representatives from Asutifi and Tano North districts, representatives from community groups, NGGL, and other community groups.

He said through the CDF a number of community development projects such as provision of water and electricity, toilet facilities, community centres, libraries and rehabilitation of roads had taken place in the catchment area.

The fund had also established cottage industries and market stalls and supported cultural heritage and sports events. Mining activities causes displacement of communities and livelihoods, a situation, which leads to sometimes serious hostilities between the affected communities and the firms, especially when the people feel that they have been short-changed or have not been paid adequate compensation.

According to Mr Gyan such phenomenon could not befall the NGGL, which has established a Livelihood Re-establishment Programme, which cost 22.3 million dollars, aimed at improving the lot of the communities and resettled people.

He named the interventions as Ahafo Linkages Programme, designed to support and improve local businesses and thereby enable the people to access the business opportunities associated with the Ahafo Mine and beyond and the Agricultural Improvement and Land Access Programme, a post resettlement mitigation facility assisting farmers directly affected by the development of the Ahafo Mine.

The rest are Livelihood Enhancement and Empowerment Programme, a skills training and development initiative for income improvement, Ahafo Agribusiness Growth Initiative, offering extension services to farmers and Vulnerable Programme where those declared extremely poor are assisted with food baskets and their children awarded scholarships. Mr Gyan said NGGL had also spent 17 million dollars on resettlement packages and additional 16 million dollars on crop compensations to more than 1,700 households that were affected by the development of the Ahafo Mine.

On contribution of NGGL to the national economy including its catchment areas, Mr Gyan said: "NGGL paid 270 million dollars to government, Ghanaian employees and vendors in 2008, created more than 3,300 direct jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs and contributed almost eight million dollars to community development in the Ahafo area to date." He said the company also acceded to international safety standards to protect the environment. 4 May 10