Golden Exotic Limited (GEL), Ghana’s premier free zone enterprise and the largest exporter of bananas, has handed over three vital community facilities to the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly.
The three projects are a six-unit classroom block at Lubuse Roman Catholic (RC) Basic School, and two 120-unit residential facilities for teachers and nurses in Dorfor and Adakope.
Though these projects formed part of the company’s annual social responsibility package within its operation area, this year’s event coincided with its 20th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of being certified as a Fairtrade company.
The six-unit classroom block for the Lubuse RC basic school is complete with a staff common room, headteacher’s office, and water closet toilets with disability-friendly facilities.
All classrooms and offices are well-furnished and fitted with electricity and celling fans as well as whiteboards to provide comfort for teaching and learning. The interventions also included a 24-hour water supply system through mechanized boreholes.
The Need for the Intervention
The primary block of the Lubuse RC basic school developed deep cracks somewhere in 2020, becoming a death trap.
In a bid to prevent any disaster from befalling the school, it was advised that the structure be pulled down. As a result, both the primary and the junior high schools had to share the JHS block in a hybrid format for two academic years, with some classes being held under trees. The situation caught the attention of the Fairtrade and Golden Exotic limited cooperate social responsibility community relation teams, leading to the intervention.
The teachers’ and nurses’ bungalow projects were borne out of the frequent refusal of these critical workers to accept postings in the area. According to the Osudoku District Health and Education directorates, more than half of newly posted teachers and nurses decline their posting each year after their first visit to their respective communities due mainly to lack of accommodation. The intervention by GEL therefore is to fill the yawning gap in this area to ensure the staff stay in the communities to serve the people. All the bungalows have electricity and water extended to them.
The commissioning
At the commission and handing over of the three projects, the General Manager of Golden Exotic Limited, Benedict Rich, highlighted GEL’s commitment to community development over the two decades.
“The company has consistently invested in amenities, such as classrooms, healthcare centers, and housing for teachers and health workers. The vision was to create a company in Ghana that would not only excel in its field as a banana grower and exporter but also make a positive impact on the lives of individuals and communities around it. And today, as we look back, we can proudly say that we have been successful in realizing that dream.”
The District Chief Executive for Shai Osudoku District, Fred Offei, acknowledged the positive impact of GEL interventions in the health and education sectors, particularly in easing accommodation challenges faced by nurses and teachers posted in the district. He urged the community to uphold a maintenance culture to prolong the lifespan of these assets. He again urged the district directorates of education and health to collect monthly tokens from those who would occupy the bungalows towards the maintenance of the facilities including the payment of utility bills.
The Osudoku State Mankralo, Nene Tetteh Otibo IV, expressed gratitude to Golden Exotic Limited for its consistent support and called on other organizations to emulate GEL’s examples to benefit indigenous communities in Osudoku.
The two Teachers and Nurses bungalow at Dorfor and Adakokpe cost of 1,643,007 cedis each while the Lubuse basic school classroom block cost 1,892,617 cedis.
The Golden Exotic Vision
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of Golden Exotics Limited, GEL, in Ghana. 20 years ago, the dream was born, a vision to create a company in Ghana that will not only excel in its field as a banana grower and exporter but also make a positive impact on the lives of individuals and communities around it. And today 20 years into the lane, it can proudly be said that these dreams have successfully been realized.
The 10th Anniversary of GEL being certified as a Fairtrade Company means that their production methods, labour, social, and environmental policies conform to the high standards requirements of FLOCERT, the certification body for Fairtrade International. These policies are audited at least once a year to ensure continuous compliance.
The three projects were made possible because of Fairtrade Premium Receipts from customers in Europe amounting to about One Million Euros annually. Prior to the 20th and 10th anniversary celebration of GEL and GEL Fairtrade, GEL as part of its CSR activities initiated and completed various projects in several communities and also refurbished existing dilapidated ones.
As at the commissioning of the three projects at Lubuse, Dorfor and Adakpoe, GEL has completed and handed over 32 projects within its operation zone, the Shai Osudoku District, which encompasses three regions, Greater Accra, Volta and Eastern regions. These projects are located at Kasunya, where a 14-unit classroom block was fully refurbished with offices and staff common rooms for the Roman Catholic (RC) and District Assembly (DA) schools including the teachers’ bungalows we built for them.
Additionally, a girl’s Vocational Training Centre and workshop have been completed at Osuwen yet to be handed over to the relevant authorities before the end of the year. This will enable the centre to be operational with the first batch of its students enrolling by the first quarter of 2024. Again, the maternal health department of the Osudoku Health Centre has been refurbished ready to be furnished with modern medical equipment for the children in the community. It is expected to be handed over before the end of January 2024.
GEL has also repainted the Akuse Government Hospital and that of the Osudoku Health Centre. The Kasunya Chips Compound was refurbished and equipped earlier this year. Aside from the infrastructure GEL has supported other health-related activities including organizing health screening programmes around the communities, reaching out to over 3,500 persons. GEL also catered for the renewals of their NHIS cards for free. Golden Exotics Limited, GEL, has supported the Osuduku Health Centre with some medical items to take care of those affected by the floods.
Various other communities including Kasunya, Nyapienya, Ayiborm, Gozakope and Dunyokope, have all benefited from GEL acclaris water projects.
But the past 20 years have not been all rosy for GEL. The company has to weather storms and embrace changes with open arms and hands. This year, for instance, its new farm at the left bank of the Kpong Irrigation Project at Torgome had 450 Hectares or 110 acres of its plants submerged in water due to the spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams. The spillage has also destroyed most of the infrastructure, which was built at a huge cost. Despite these devastating losses, GEL found it necessary to support flooded communities within its plantation catchment area with relief items.
Another major area of concern for Golden Exotics Limited, GEL, is the state of the roads in the area, where it has invested resources, in an attempt to improve them. This year alone the company had spent around 1.8 million cedis just to make the road a little motorable.
GEL is committed to empowering the communities where they operate, with a major focus on Education, Health Care, Water and Sanitation. Through a strategic partnership, GEL works hand in hand with the communities to address their social needs to ensure sustainable growth.
