The AGA-Obuasi Community Trust Fund has disbursed a total of GH¢180,000 in tertiary education grants to support 120 brilliant but financially disadvantaged students from communities within AngloGold Ashanti’s operational areas.
The support, provided under the Trust Fund’s Tertiary Education Grant Scheme, has been offered since the 2019/2020 academic year to improve access to higher education and reduce the number of Senior High School graduates unable to continue their studies due to financial constraints.
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The latest disbursement introduced a third batch of 40 beneficiaries, joining 80 continuing students who had already received support under the first and second phases of the programme.
So far, 42 students from the Obuasi Municipality have benefited from the scheme, while 30 students are from the Obuasi East District. The Adansi North and Amansie Central districts have each recorded 24 beneficiaries.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi and Chairman of the AGA Community Trust Fund Steering Committee, Elijah Adansi-Bonah, said the scholarship programme has been expanded to prioritise students pursuing mining-related programmes to improve their employment prospects within the mining sector.
He explained that while many earlier beneficiaries were enrolled in teacher training institutions, the Steering Committee decided to include more students studying mining-related disciplines.
Mr Adansi-Bonah also stressed the importance of collaboration between AngloGold Ashanti and the communities within its operational areas, describing partnership as essential for the development of Obuasi.
He encouraged the 40 newly selected beneficiaries, made up of 22 males and 18 females, to remain focused on their studies and serve as worthy ambassadors of both the scholarship programme and their communities.
Representing the Adansihene, the Dunsinasehene of Fomena, Nana Owi-Asamoah, commended the Trust Fund for investing in education and appealed for the scholarship scheme to be extended to postgraduate students pursuing master’s and doctoral programmes.
He further urged the Steering Committee to consider including students studying medicine, citing the critical role healthcare professionals play in national development.
The Senior Manager for Sustainability at AngloGold Ashanti, Emmanuel Baidoo, whose speech was delivered on his behalf, said the Community Trust Fund was established to make meaningful investments that address community development priorities while strengthening relations between the company and its host communities.
He reaffirmed AngloGold Ashanti’s commitment to improving the well-being of the communities in which it operates through sustainable development initiatives.
The scholarship announcement follows the recent groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of two kindergarten classroom blocks at Binsere and Dokyiwa, as well as the drilling of boreholes for the New Biakoyeden, Wioso and Bidiem communities under the Trust Fund’s community development programme.
