Akwatia, March 25, GNA - Mr Mike Hamah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has disclosed that the Ghana Consolidated Diamond (GCD) at Akwatia would soon be handed over to a strategic investor following the completion of its divestiture process. Addressing workers of GCD at Akwatia, on Thursday, as part of his two-day familiarization tour of the Eastern Region, he assured them that arrangement had been made with the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) to pay all outstanding bills of electricity and water the company owes its service providers.

Additionally, the workers would soon be paid their outstanding severance pay of 50 percent. Mr Hamah indicated that this time round, nothing would prevent the company, which was closed down in August 2007, from bouncing back to life.

Mr Hamah challenged the workers to work extra hard when the company resumes operations and to be able to add value to 93your product".

Mr Delali Kabe, Production Manager of GCD, on behalf of the workers, thanked the Government for paying them 50 percent of their severance pay in December last year.

He noted that due to non-payment of the severance awards, 44 of the workers had died out of poverty after the closure of the company. Mr Hamah earlier in the day paid a courtesy call on Osabarima Kofi Boateng the third, Akwatiahene, and called for concerted efforts from chiefs to help curb illegal mining.

He noted that the country was losing close to six percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), through illegal mining activities and chainsaw operations.

Osabarima Boateng, on his part, appealed to the Government to speed up the divestiture process of GCD to help provide employment in the area.

He noted that the closure of the company brought about high crime in the area with children dropping out of schools and young girls taking to prostitution because their parents could not cater for them.