Gold Fields Vows to Honour All Scholarships Beyond Mine Handover, Withdraws Awards for Non-Performance

The quarterly meeting, a vital engagement with municipal directors, community leaders, and heads of education and health, became the stage for these significant updates, striking a balance between a promise of continuity and a lesson in accountability.

Addressing the media after the session, the Executive Secretary of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, Abdel Razak Yakubu, first delivered the reassuring news that will secure the academic futures of many. "Though we have all heard that Gold Fields will be handing over the Damang operation to the state next year, we are so committed to taking care of all the scholarship beneficiaries we have on our books until they are done with school," Mr Yakubu affirmed.

He guaranteed that scholars with up to four years of study remaining would not have their awards terminated. "We are not just going to say that, since we may be out of here in April, we are terminating the award. We are going to continue and grant them the scholarship until they are done."

This pledge of sustained support was paired with a firm stance on academic standards, as the Foundation disclosed the withdrawal of scholarships for ten beneficiaries from the Damang host communities.

"These awards have been withdrawn because of non-performance on the part of the students," Mr Yakubu explained, detailing a process built on fairness. He noted that students received warning letters and that the Foundation engaged directly with them and their parents, offering academic support. "None of them took the opportunity. Now we are in a situation where 10 of them are constantly displaying not-so-impressive performance, and we had no choice."

He emphasized the broader message: "We want this to be a lesson to the others that scholarships are never given to those who are not performing; scholarships are always for brilliant students."Beyond these pivotal educational announcements, the Foundation also reported progress on key infrastructure projects, including a recently completed classroom block at Bompieso and a major $300,000 water project underway in Damang.

Together, the updates from the meeting painted a clear picture of a legacy in the making—one built not only on infrastructure but on a principled and enduring investment in the people of its host communities.

Source: Nana Esi Brew Monney

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