In a bold move to promote inclusivity and address the challenges of illegal mining, ElectroChem Ghana Limited (EGL), has launched an ambitious Community Outgrowers Scheme.
The pioneering initiative aims to empower local residents by allocating portions of the company’s mining concession to them, allowing them to mine salt in the Songor Lagoon and sell their produce to EGL.
The scheme was launched by Dzetse Nene Kabu Abram Akuaku III, Paramount Chief of Ada Traditional Area, at a ceremony in Ada on August 26, 2024.
He underscored the importance of EGL’s operations in stimulating socio-economic development within the Ada Traditional Council and urged local residents to take advantage of the Outgrowers Scheme.
“I want to remind everyone that we owe it a sacred duty to ensure the rapid rollout of EGL’s operations to cover the entire lease as quickly as possible to increase employment avenues available to our people,” he noted.
“The company’s expansion program will spiral other related economic activities and bring relief to the local communities as well as boost the export earnings of the country.”
The Community Outgrowers Scheme follows recommendations by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Mines and Energy and Lands and Forestry.
The committee’s report recommended that EGL should consider allocating space to local miners within the concession area, assist them in deploying best practices and engage in continuous stakeholder engagement.
The scheme encourages community members to form groups, register as businesses, and undergo training in responsible and sustainable mining practices. Participants will be allocated land within the concession to mine, with EGL providing high-quality brine and technical support.
In addition to the Community Outreach Scheme, EGL has demonstrated its commitment to corporate social responsibility through various initiatives.
The company has invested US$88,000,000.00 in the first phase of the salt mining project and has allotted 1,000 acres of its concession to local communities for salt mining to improve their livelihoods.
EGL has also created over 70 salt-producing pans for seven communities and has instituted a women’s support scheme, providing GHS3,000,000.00 in interest-free loans to women entrepreneurs in Ada, which has been scaled up to GHS10,000,000.00.
Razak Adam, CEO of EGL, commenting on the scheme said, “We recognise that our success is deeply intertwined with the wellbeing of the communities we operate in. This Community Outgrowers Scheme is a testament to our belief that together, we can achieve more.”
He underscored ElectroChem’s recognition of its interconnectedness with the host communities as well as its desire to foster a legacy of prosperity for generations to come.
“Through this scheme, community members will have the opportunity to pool resources and knowledge to establish themselves as registered businesses. Poverty is our common enemy. Let us now join hands to defeat the enemy,” he noted.
He encouraged eligible community members and organisations to apply and join the scheme, promising ElectroChem’s support and resources to ensure their success.
The District Chief Executives for Ada East and West all declared their support for the initiative. In a joint statement, they declared that “this Community Outgrowers Scheme is vital to our livelihoods.”
Representatives of both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Mineral Commission lauded EGL for initiating the Community Outgrowers Scheme. They were of the firm belief that the scheme will go a long way to strengthen the relationship between the community and its catchment communities.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi
