The European Union Ambassador to Ghana, William Hanna, paid a working visit to Golden Exotic Limited (GEL) last week.
The visit was to inspect the progress of the construction of Housing and Social Infrastructure project, in Kasunya, near Asutsuare in the Shai-Osudoku district of the Greater Accra Region.
The € 5.9 million project is funded by the European Union and will provide 224 housing units for workers of the Golden Exotics Limited banana plantation. A social centre will also be constructed. Approximately, 800-1000 people will live in this new neighbourhood in the near future.
The EU funding is provided in the framework of the Banana Assistance Measures (BAM), which provides financial assistance to facilitate trade between banana-producing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. Ghana is one of eleven countries receiving financial assistance for the banana trade.
The houses will ease accommodation and transportation cost of GEL employees, who now have to commute long distances, thereby saving travel time and costs on one hand and providing decent housing on the other hand.
Ambassador Hanna inspected the site together with the Member of Parliament for the Shai-Osudoku constituency Linda Ocloo.
The Contractor, KO&G is expected to deliver the houses in the last quarter of 2018.
After the visit Ambassador Hanna said ” I am pleased to see work progressing well on the new houses for banana workers. Providing decent work and working conditions is one of the reasons why Ghana’s banana exports all obtain the Fair Trade label.
“It’s also encouraging to see that, one year after Ghana’s ratification of the EPA, producers are investing more and more in organic production, which gives added value and secures jobs for thousands of workers. This is an excellent example of sustainable production and consumption in the agricultural sector.”