Tarkwa: Fresh details have emerged challenging recent claims by former Tarkwa-Nsuaem Member of Parliament, George Mireku Duker, regarding the contribution of mining services firm Engineers and Planners to local development. During an interview on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sen programme hosted by Philip Osei Bonsu last week, the former MP alleged that despite operating for years as a key service provider to Damang Goldfields, the company had failed to deliver any meaningful physical infrastructure to communities in the Tarkwa enclave.
According to Ghana Web, information now available indicates that Engineers and Planners, a firm owned by businessman Ibrahim Mahama, has undertaken several impactful projects across communities where it operates. Evidence of the company's interventions points to a number of completed and ongoing initiatives aimed at improving education and community welfare in Tarkwa and its surrounding areas.
These projects include the construction of an eight-unit classroom block, establishment of a 200-seater ICT laboratory, development of an auditorium originally planned as a dining hall, provision of six office spaces for tutors and administrative staff, and the donation of 1,000 bags of Dzata Cement. These initiatives, according to sources within the community, have contributed significantly to enhancing educational infrastructure and supporting local development efforts.
The revelations appear to counter the assertions made by Mireku Duker and have reignited discussions around the role of private mining service providers in community development within resource-rich areas. While the debate continues, stakeholders say a broader, fact-based assessment of corporate contributions is necessary to ensure accountability and balanced public discourse on development in mining communities.