Accra, Aug. 23, GNA – Tullow Oil Ghana is investing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education towards developing the critical human resources that can manage the oil and gas industry in the future.
The initiative is to help redusce the reliance on foreign expertise in the industry and also bridge the science and technology gap towards alleviating poverty in the country.
Briefing journalists at a media engagement in Accra, Mr Charles Darku, Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited, said in its commitment towards promoting STEM, Tullow was tackling all the levels of education from the kindergarten to the tertiary levels.
He said so far, Tullow had collaborated with other partners to build 12 kindergartens in 20 communities including New Bakanta, Akwidae, and Krisan, as well as built STEM centres at Agona Nkwanta and elsewhere in collaboration with partners like Youth Bridge Foundation and the Ghana Education Service.
Mr Darku noted that students in the schools were being provided with education and mentorship support, while STEM clinics and special classes were being organised as well as science and oil and gas quizzes, fairs and competitions being held for schools.
At the Tertiary level, Mr Darku said various scholarships were being provided for students at the University of Ghana in Legon, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, the Takoradi Technical University, the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa and the Ashesi University in Accra.
“We want to leave a generational legacy that would be able to run the oil sector in few years to come,” Mr Darku said. “Because Tullow is an engineering Company, this is a deliberate attempt to raise people to work in the Industry. Right at the onset of the oil business in the country, we noticed that there was no local expertise and that affected the local content”.
The Managing Director said the STEM initiative had become a main area of focus for Tullow in its 2017 to 2020 thematic areas towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) and economic investment.
Mr Darku, said apart from the Company’s commitment towards capacity building through STEM, it was also committed towards the strengthening of the local economy as well as collaborating on shared infrastructure projects while maintaining good stakeholder relations and helping manage its co-existence with fishermen at sea, which had helped in reducing the risk of clash with fisher folks during seismic and within safety zones.
He mentioned other areas of activities as including the construction and provision of the health facilities, water and sanitation projects, livelihoods and enterprise development and education and training all geared towards CSR activities in Ghana.
He said under its social investment programmes, Tullow had since 2008 been spending approximately three to four million dollars annually.
He said the Company fully remained committed to its values of operating safely in the country while creating mutual value and shared prosperity for all.