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AngloGold Ashanti marks Africa Day … pledges to sustain fight against COVID-19
AngloGold Ashanti marked this year’s Africa Day with a commitment to help sustain efforts to fight COVID-19 pandemic on the continent.
The company made the pledge when it joined more than 1.2 billion Africans across the continent and in the diaspora on Monday, to mark Africa Day, at a time the African Union (AU) was spearheading several initiatives aimed to combat the spread of COVID-19 and ensure Africa’s economic resilience.
The Chief Operating Officer for Africa, Sicelo Ntuli, in a statement released to the Ghanaian Times, said: “AngloGold Ashanti is committed to supporting the AU in its response strategy and is working in cooperation with the respective government programmes and stakeholders to roll out a series of hygiene and educational interventions at its sites and across communities.”
The theme for this year’s Africa Day, “Silencing the guns; Creating a conducive environment for Africa’s development”, in part, provided the relevant framework to all stakeholders, including governments, the private sector, civil society and academia to join forces in the fight against the pandemic, ensuring that livelihoods were protected and economic activity kept alive.
In March, this year, Africa’s leaders met and developed a comprehensive, continent-wide response strategy to COVID-19.
This is to enhance collaboration and communication on the pandemic by member states and partners, including Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC), which specialises in efforts to strengthen health systems and improve surveillance, emergency response, prevention and control of diseases in AU member states.
Mr Ntuli said: “AngloGold Ashanti aims to support the countries in which we operate to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The company continues to work closely with governments and communities and has rolled out a number of interventions to keep people safe.”
He congratulated all Africans on the occasion of Africa Day and pledged that AngloGold would continue to work to support governments and communities where it operates.
Mr Ntuli said the company had introduced measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including stepping-up screening and surveillance of employees, banning non-essential travel, instituting clear self-quarantine measures and increasing hygiene awareness and facilities.
He mentioned that in Ghana, AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control has disinfected health centres, markets and carried out education campaign on COVID-19 in the Obuasi municipality.
Mr Ntuli said the Obuasi and Iduapriem Mines had donated funds through the Ghana Chamber of Mines, which had provided US$2million to the government of Ghana to fight COVID-19.
He said Iduapriem had created an isolation centre in Tarkwa, developed a comprehensive COVID-19 education campaign and increased the number of hand-washing facilities at site and in host communities. It had, also provided medical equipment and PPE. “
He said about US$1 million would be spent on reducing the effects of COVID-19, at Iduapriem.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
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National Cathedral: We can’t halt salary payments because project is on hold – Dr. Joyce Aryee
Dr. Joyce Aryee, a member of the National Cathedral’s board of trustees, has dismissed concerns about staff payments, including those of CEO Dr Paul Opoku-Mensah, during the construction halt as “ridiculous.”
Her response follows growing concerns over the project’s stalled progress and its impact on staff salaries.
Speaking on the sidelines of a symposium organized in collaboration with TD Jakes’ divinity school on Monday, October 14, Dr Aryee said, “If a project is on hold, it doesn’t mean that people are not working to keep it going. I’m surprised, I don’t even want to comment on it, as ridiculous as this. No, I won’t comment.
She further challenged the logic behind the concerns, adding, “So you establish an organisation, the organisation should stop because you don’t have money to continue a certain aspect of the organisation. Is that it? Answer it yourself.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Executive Director of the National Cathedral, has sought to clarify misconceptions surrounding the project, emphasizing that it goes beyond being just a church building.
He highlighted the potential benefits the cathedral could bring, including revenue generation and showcasing Ghana’s rich cultural heritage to the world.
The National Cathedral project has faced strong opposition, with critics questioning the appropriateness of government involvement and raising concerns about a lack of financial transparency.
However, Dr. Opoku-Mensah remains optimistic, particularly following a symposium held in collaboration with TD Jakes’ divinity school. The event aimed to educate the public about the broader functions of the cathedral.
Envisioned as a historic landmark, the cathedral is intended to serve as a sacred space for religious activities. Additionally, it will feature Africa’s first Museum of the Bible, a collaboration with the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
“The symposium is just conceived as the National Cathedral’s response to what in Ghana we perceive to be the return initiatives and offer a pathway mediated by faith to connecting Ghana to the African diaspora,” she said.
This collaboration will seek to develop a Pan-African community to collectively work to address historical, racial and contemporary of Africa’s contributions to theology practice.
She said, “We seek to demonstrate the conveying functions of the National Cathedral, the National Cathedral project is often misunderstood, conceived almost entirely as a physical church building. The National Cathedral is more than a church and it includes critical national, continental and global conversations.”He congratulated TD Jakes’ divinity school for taking students across the African continent.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
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NPP-NDC clash at Mamobi: One person arrested
One person has been arrested in Connection with the clash involving members of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Mamobi in Accra on Sunday.
“The Ghana Police Service wishes to assure the general public that investigation into the disturbances that occurred between supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Mamobi in Accra, yesterday, Sunday 13th October 2024, is still ongoing,” the police revealed in a statement today.
They concluded, “So far, one person has been arrested in connection with the incident and the Police are working around the clock to get all identified perpetrators arrested to face justice.”
