Communities cannot develop if the various people are not ready to embrace development with themselves. These developments have conspired with the country’s gaping economic and social milieu to create a national development for most people, especially people living within these communities.
As a company with so many social corporates, Ghana National Gas Company and its board and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ben Asante cannot overlook responsibilities within a day. The project-affected communities in Ghana are the most beneficiaries of the gas company’s priority and cannot be overlooked. Usually, community is largely dependent on the people living in there and dreaming of a utopian state. As the company’s vision, Ghana Gas is to drive home development in most parts, if not every community, within the country.
Developing personnel and community is key to the gas company and it has resolved to do everything possible to ensure there is development in the various community. Personnel development looks at building and ensuring intellectual capacity to be able to sustain the industry or the company. The community development ensures that the people are able to receive assistance from the gas company in order to make life better. The vision of the gas company is not only to focus on project-affected areas but rather the whole country since the natural resources belong to all Ghanaians. The company continues to provide assistance to government institutions, corporates, individuals, and many more in order to ease the economic pressure. Community development can be influenced by other factors within the country and these factors can have as much of an impact on the community development process as they do on the community itself.
They may even be contributing to the issues being addressed or be a central part of the problem. In many cases, these factors have, greatly, a shift on a community’s ability to succeed or fail in its development goal. The human elements of a community are by far one of the most important aspects of community development. Communities are based upon the people that make up their memberships; without them, communities would not exist. It is no wonder, then, that factors related to the people can be so influential on community development. The important means of achieving this development in our communities is to foster dynamic links between communities and external partners. The industry players can also influence the equitable distribution of mine-related benefits by ensuring that opportunities are created for all, especially vulnerable or marginalized groups such as indigenous people, ethnic minorities and the economically displaced. Sustainable community development programmes contribute to the long-term strengthening of community viability.
Often, the most sustainable the gas industry can leave as a legacy are in the skills and capacities training, employment and education programmes for local people. Community development is a reciprocal process. By supporting communities to develop in a sustainable manner is by far impacting their growth.
In Atuabo, where there is the gas processing plant, the gas company has provided many educational programmes through the training of women in skill-making ventures and opportunities have been given to the young and old as well as the making of soap, bees, hand sanitizers, among many. This training is not only limited to the community affected areas but rather across the country.
In the Volta Region, the gas company has constructed a gift shop center at the Ho museum to train young and old women in handicrafts. Aflao has been given a craft village, also to train people to be able to personally do something with the knowledge acquired. This is a life transformation and development in the community across Ghana.
The diversity in human populations largely contributes to this, and many of these factors are rooted in the human nature of community members. As communities seek development in the lives of people, the development nature of Ghana is dependent and, as a matter of urgency, various communities seek development in the lives of their people. Ghana as a developing country would need development in the area of education at least for all, health care for all, economic turnaround, water and sanitation within all regions of Ghana and sports development for all especially the youth of this country. Ghana Gas has its blueprint across the nation and has given back to community people through the God-given natural resources.
The questions that come to mind is, has the gas company been able to give back to society as expected? Has the natural resources been managed well by the gas company?
The good people of this country can see the support and assistance provided by the gas company. The Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ben Asante, together with the board and management, has made sure that this company will always engage the community in order to meet these needs as expected.
The gas company has given over 400 scholarships to students within all universities across. Ghana National Gas Company Limited is determined to ensure that the people of Ghana especially the project-affected areas will change the narratives about development in their lives. The gas company is seen to be building a cohesive development and inspiring confidence to the people and in the industry players and it remains to be seen whether the gas company is up to the task across the country. Gathering, processing, transportation and distributing of natural resources within the country and across the sub-regions are the mandate of Ghana National Gas Company Limited.
Ghana Gas is noted for the good reasons across the country. The recent Akosombo Dam spillage in the Volta Region led to flooding, damage to properties, displacement, loss of livelihoods, among others, therefore, making life very difficult for the ordinary people in this affected communities. Affected villages in the Volta Region are Bator, Tefle, Mepe, Sogakope, Adidome and Anlo, according to National Disaster Management Organisation (NaDMO) report. The gas company provided relief items to reduce their burden. These relief items will go a long way to assist and help them. The spillage has claimed lives, submerged or damaged crops, leading to loss of livestock and damage to agricultural equipment. My checks reveal that about 40,000 residents are in need of assistance to survive. Other corporate institutions, individuals, government officials, government institutions, media houses among others have all donated.
The gas company donated relief items such as 200 Enapa Mackerel 425g, 100 Enapa Sardine 125g, 50 Milano Sardine 125g, 50 Sultana Sardine 125g, 500 Gino Tomatoes 65g, 200 Queen Oil Bottle 1L, 100 Kleesoft Washing Powder 420g, 50 Key Soap 800g, 50 Geisha Soap 180g, 320 Special Rice 4.5kg, 40 Ruby Rice 4.5kg, 40 Sultana Viet Rice 4.5kg, 280 Tango T’roll 70piecs of bag, 210 Heaven coil mosquito 60packs, 4000 water, 200 bags of Maize, 200 bags of Gari.
The affected victims in most communities are currently living with friends and family while others are putting up in shelters with the government and NADMO together with other stakeholders providing relief items for their survival.
By Romeo Oduro
The writer is a Senior Communications Officer at Ghana National Gas Company