• He explained that they are doing so in partnership with private sector companies like Cargill
• The Cargill Schools Project’s new facilities will provide an estimated 700 children with access to education
The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government is committing substantial investments into infrastructure expansion in the education sector as a duty to serving humanity, the Deputy Minister for Education, John Ntim Fordjour has boasted.
He explained that as a way of pushing the government’s targets in education, it has been working closely with the private sector because that is where there are assurances of yielding dividends which will come in handy for the country’s benefit.
“In this year’s budget, the government has further committed substantial investment into infrastructure expansion but the duty of serving humanity is when all come together, particularly the private sector, to augment the efforts of the government. And that is why I am particularly excited about Cargill’s initiative of investing in education."
“The best way to deploy Corporate Social Responsibility is to target education because that is where you are assured of yielding dividends which will come back into your hands. I salute the leadership of Cargill and challenge all others in the private sector to do the same and to up the scale.
“In alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal 7, the opportunity for access to quality education for all has been created through this Cargill project and no one will be left behind,” he said.
John Ntim Fordjour made this known at a groundbreaking ceremony of the Cargill Schools Project at Adjei Kojo in the Tema West Constituency.
In 2019, Cargill Inc. outlined a plan to build six schools in Ghana: five in cocoa-producing districts and one in Tema as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative called the Cargill Cocoa Promise.
According to Cargill, the company’s strategic plan is to improve the incomes and living standards of farmers and their communities while growing cocoa sustainably.
The project is being executed in partnership with CARE International, comprising of three primary schools, two kindergarten blocks, and one junior high school block, in the communities of Fahiakobo, Lines, Fojourkrom, Jumbo, Afofiekrom in the Western North region and Adjei Kojo in the Tema West constituency, close to Cargill’s processing facility.
As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen cocoa-growing communities, prevent child labor and invest in education, the Cargill Schools Project’s new facilities will provide an estimated 700 children with access to education.
The CARE PROSPER team tasked with the construction of the school will involve key stakeholders such as the District Director of Ghana Education Service, the District Works Department Engineer, Planning Officer, opinion leaders, and community members in the course of the projects, a statement said.
You can nominate personalities and organisations for the GhanaWeb Excellence Awards via this link.
John Ntim Fordjour commended Cargill for their project in the education sector