Mensin Gold Bibiani grants scholarship to 35

The Mensin Gold Bibiani mining firm in the Western North Region has granted educational financial assistance to 35 brilliant, needy tertiary students in its catchment area totalling GH¢212,796.00.

The beneficiary students are pursuing medicine, pharmacy, business, nursing, midwifery, engineering and agriculture.

The Resolute Foundation Advisory Panel, a community relationship outfit of the mining firm, issued out 140 application forms of which 75 students applied after which 40 were shortlisted.

The highly competitive selection process finally settled on 35 to pursue their dreams to improve the local content of the company. It comes after 10 others benefited in 2017 and 22 in 2018.

MD

The Managing Director of Mensin Gold, Dean Bertram, said the idea to support the community over the last three years was to help reduce illiteracy, build human capacity and reduce unemployment.

He said the company was poised to partner the various communities in improving the general livelihood of the people and build their confidence level in competing favourably with their foreign counterparts for contracts in the near future.

"I challenge you (beneficiaries) to embrace this opportunity by being diligent and studious in your academic work. The success of this programme depends on how well you perform and apply your time to your studies," Mr Bertram said.

In a speech read on behalf of the Chairman of the foundation, Mr Isaac Osei Yeboah, by the Community and Legal Relations Officer, Mr Emmanuel Aidoo, he said the credibility of the selection process was influenced by its high level of accountability to the communities.

He said plans were underway to lobby for expansion of the assistance to embrace more needy students.

He commended the Mensin Gold for honouring their promise although it was yet to commence production.

Pillar

The General Manager of the company, Bennett Kunkyebe, said the educational pillar of the company was essential for human development.

He said the focus on such brilliant, needy students was to eventually bridge the poverty gap.

Govt scholarship

The Minister of the Western North Region, Kingsley Abogye Gyedu, said following the government's decentralisation of the Scholarship Secretariat, 89 students from the Bibiani-Anhwiaso Bekwai District of the region were to benefit from government scholarship to the tune of GH¢107,000.

He said under the scheme, 15 students from the district had been pursuing medicine at some of the country's medical schools over the last two-and-a-half years, while 10 were sent to Cuba to study the same programme.

Infrastructure

The regional minister said under the free SHS programme, the government had embarked on an aggressive infrastructure development, the result of which three nursery blocks, four SHS schools and two other new facilities were under construction.

Tertiary

He said Bibiani's first-ever tertiary institution — the Bibiani College of Health Sciences, had been completed.

He said the operation of the institution would reduce the number of people who travelled outside the region for such a programme.

Production

The Paramount Chief of the area, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyabi II, urged the mining firm to take advantage of the high gold price on the wold market to begin production.

He urged the company to stick to its plans of beginning production by July next year.

Funeral

The paramount chief pleaded with parents to cut down on expenditure on funerals and rather invest such money in the education of their children.