Ghacem Cement Foundation has since its inception given a total of 600,000 bags of cement to deprived communities across the country valued at GH¢ 27 million.

The Foundation was established by Ghacem Limited in 2002 as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) to assist deprived communities to improve their health and educational infrastructure.

A media release issued by the company said the cement donation by the foremost cement manufacturer was done annually to hand over the allocated bags to institutions across the country grouped into Southern (Central, Western, Western North, Volta, Oti, Eastern and Greater Accra Region) and Northern(Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, Bono East, Bono, Ahafo and Ashanti Region) sectors as a support package for the institutions which were currently undertaking various infrastructural projects.

Southern sector donation

This year’s Southern Sector donation ceremony was held in Takoradi on July 29, 2021, where a total of 15,400 bags were donated to selected health and educational institutions captured under the Southern Sector.

The Northern Sector, which consists of the Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, Brong East, Brong, Ahafo and Ashanti Region, will also receive its estimated allocation of free cement slated for September this year.

The Chairman of the Foundation, Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, who briefed the gathering on the activities of the foundation, emphasised that Ghacem decided to support education and health in a bid to make significant impact in Ghana’s infrastructural development.

He implored beneficiaries, past and present, to use the Ghacem Superior Cement product always as they also contribute to the success of the Ghacem Cement Foundation.

He also seized the opportunity to reiterate the correct mode of application and appealed to beneficiaries to use the donation for the intended purpose.

Mode of application

Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI disclosed that two types of application existed which included to rehabilitate an existing structure that required rehabilitation, and for new structures in the community at lintel level that needed support.

He however cautioned that double application would be cancelled, and the applicant banned for life whereas fraudulent application would also be banned, and applicants handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

In her address, a council member of the Foundation, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, said the council was delighted to see the annual ceremony bounce back after it was called off last year during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ghacem cannot talk too much about the adverse effect of COVID-19 but we take solace in the knowledge that by giving the premium quality cement for infrastructural development, we are contributing in our own way to alleviate some of the hardship experienced in the health and educational sectors of the country,” she said.

She appealed to beneficiaries to use the donated cement judiciously and also spread the good news to all other institutions who would want to benefit provided they qualified.

The Head of the Ghacem Cement Foundation Secretariat who doubles as the Marketing & PR Manager of Ghacem, Mr Benny Fiifi Ashun, said the foundation was committed to providing more support especially to institutions mostly found in deprived/remote areas of the country.

“This makes Ghacem a corporate entity that stands tall in the socioeconomic development of the country. We will continue to target education and health infrastructure in these deprived areas to support government’s developmental agenda” he intimated.