Invest and grow with communities- GNPC Foundation urges corporate entities

The Executive Director for the GNPC Foundation, Dr. Dominic Eduah has entreated corporate entities to adapt to a more responsive policy in its Corporate Social Investment in their host communities. He shared that it’s prudent to invest and grow with communities they operate, adding that such consideration enahnces the entity’s successes and credibility.

In his welcome address at the premiering of a documentary of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects taken since 2017, to stakeholders in Takoradi, Dr. Eduah noted that the commitment towards supporting and enhancing community development has been sustained through innovation and a consultative approach with beneficiaries and stakeholders in addressing critical needs. He recommended that corporate entities emulate same to support community and national development.

“It is my expectation that this would reinvigorate us and all corporate entities who are putting the development of communities and the empowerment of people at the center of their focus. By this I am encouraging all to invest directly into and grow with their communities by honouring the social contract it has with them.”

He recounted that management took up the challenge to refocus investment in three thematic areas; Environment and Social Amenities, Economic Empowerment, and Education and Training, to make a desired impact in the lives of Ghanaians. Dr. Eduah assessed that the success stories are unimaginable as the testimonies from beneficiaries relive and influence decisions for a sustain investment.

He listed that the foundation has constructed 700 borehole water systems, built and furnished 140 classroom blocks, 86 sanitory facilities, 28 artificial turfs, 11 school dormitories, 8 science laboratories, hospitals, and among, under their Environment and Social Amenities arm of their CSR Program.

In the area of Education and Training, Dr. Eduah indicated that a total of 4,072 Local scholarships, and 170 foreign scholarships have been offered eligible Ghanaians to pursue education at the tertiary levels.

“Our commitment to bridge the gab between patient to doctor ratio, some 200 Ghanaians were awarded scholarships to pursue medicine in Cuba,” he adde

To support research and human capacity development in Ghana’s mining and oil and gas sector, Dr. Eduah noted that, the GNPC Foundation had invested a whopping $4 million for the establishment of Professional Chairs in four Ghanaian Public Universities; University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, and the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa (UMaT), over a four year program.

He added that their focus has not been restricted to tertiary education alone but to the basic levels, especially in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic.

“…GNPC’s technical and technologically vested operations places us in a unique position to contribute to the development of human capacity among Ghanaians to ensure greater participation from citizens and locals in not only Ghana’s oil and gas exploration activities but other science and tech-based sectors of the country. This has led to our investments in STEM training and encouring and interest in this area with programmes such as the STEM Quiz and the Digital Academy at the basic school level.

Deputy Minister for the Western Region, Gifty Eugenia Kusi, who was the special guest of honour for the event, commended the GNPC Foundation for making the best use of the oil proceeds to support the development of the country. She trusted the commitment taken by the organisation if sustained would lead to the rapid development and transformation of country.

She shared that the experiences of several host communities in the extractive sector had been terrible, in years past where organisation had little appreciation of CSR.

For her, the GNPC Foundation’s record of social investment is compelling for government and to any other organisation, to prioritise the development of its host communities.