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Nana Kwesi Agyeman IX (2nd from right), the Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, being assisted by Perry Acheampong (right), Corporate Affairs Manager of GREL, and other members of the community to open the facility
Nana Kwesi Agyeman IX (2nd from right), the Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, being assisted by Perry Acheampong (right), Corporate Affairs Manager of GREL, and other members of the community to open the facility

GREL supports Komanfokrom with improved KVIP

The Ghana Rubber Estate (GREL) has provided a 10-seater Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pit (KVIP) latrine for Komanfokrom, one of its host communities in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region.

The facility estimated at ¢284,000 was important for the  community particularly, during the rainy seasons and to save the community members and schoolchildren from using the makeshift latrine, which had become a safety threat.

SDG 6

The facility will help in achieving SDG 6, which inches towards 2030 to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation.

The Corporate Affairs Manager of GREL, Mr Perry Acheampong, said the facility was a request made to the company by members of the community.

He said the facility was a ventilated improved pit latrine with a black pipe vent fitted to the pit and a fly-screen at the top outlet of the pipe which had met the standards to provide a safe place for the community.

GREL, he said, was committed to the good neighbourliness between the hosts and the company and commended the chiefs, elders and people of Komanfokrom for their peaceful coexistence with GREL.

Social investment

The presentation, he said, was just one of many social investment programmes the company had carried out across its operational areas and that it was worth commending the people of Komanfokrom for their patience, saying “We urged other communities to emulate the good example of Komanfokrom as work together as a team.”

 Mr Acheampong urged the community to own, help manage and maintain the facility; assuring them that there would be more engagements between GREL and its host communities.

The Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, Nana Kwesi Agyeman IX, said the days when businesses operated solely for profit were long gone, adding: “Whilst this is obviously still important, many companies now focus largely on support for communities these companies operate.”

Contemporary business

He said in the contemporary business environment, it was incredibly important that companies operated in a way that demonstrated social responsibility.

Support for communities, he said even though it was not a legal requirement, it was seen as good practice for companies to take into account social support and environmentally sustainable operations.

Nana Agyeman, who is also the Chairman of the “Association of Chiefs on whose Land GREL Operates (ACLANGO) commended GREL for redeeming its pledge to build the facility for the community, which was one of its operational area communities.

He said the company had gained a reputation as a socially responsible company that understood and responded to the needs of its host communities. 

Operational areas

He recalled some of its social interventions, which covered projects such as schools, social centres, health centres, water and sanitation, among others, across the more than 90 communities that GREL operated in Western, Central and Eastern regions.

For his part, the Chief of Komanfokrom, Nana Gyentsi Amoako X, said his people were very grateful to the company for the support.

He said the more improved KVIP for the community was important to them and that it would replace the dilapidated makeshift the community was using which he said came with a lot of risk to users, especially the young ones.

The facility was situated in a convenient location making it user-friendly for members of the community and a school nearby. 

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