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Diamond Cement Ghana Limited (DCGL) has instituted some measures to expand its corporate social responsibility efforts and remain committed to the core value of creating shared values for society and company.

Mr T. Ramarao, General Manager of DCGL, said the company has till date spent over 3.5 million dollars as part of the company’s CSR efforts.

“Diamond Cement has in the past constructed community water tanks and pumps that serve water to various parts of the Volta Region including Aflao and Duta. This was done following a request from members of the community to the company to help resolve their water problems”, he said in an interview with the GNA.

Mr Ramarao said the company intends not only to extend its assistance to the community but also diversify the extent of its community outreach.

Diamond Cement has previously embarked on expensive community projects including; helping to construct a two million dollar substation for GRIDCo, building a shelter for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the Aflao border, building five schools and supporting eight other schools with cash donations and a recreational facility for people within the Aflao community.

Mr Aikins Agbale, Operating Technician of the GRIDCo Substation, Aflao, said in the past Aflao did not have a dedicated substation and had to rely on power supply from its substation in Togo, and later Sogakope which resulted in severe challenges for GRIDCo.

“Diamond Cement Ghana Limited came to our aid to construct this substation that supplies electricity to many parts of the Volta Region, Togo and Benin. Although we later settled our debts to the company, Diamond Cement still support us whenever we are in need and therefore remain an important stakeholder to us”, Mr Agbale noted.

Mr Agbale explained that the DCGL built has all the facilities and gadgets needed to function optimally, such as circuit breakers, transformers, disconnect switches, and two feeders, one of which supplies DCGL and the Electricity Company of Ghana.

On his part, Mr John Kwasi Tofah, of the GRA-Customs Division, Aflao Preventive Unit, told GNA that the shelter built by Diamond Cement serves as a much needed resting place for officials on patrol.

Mr Tofah also said the shelter has been very helpful to the entire nation in the sense that their presence at the border regularly deters smugglers and criminals from entering the country with illegal goods.

Notable among the CSR projects undertaken by DCGL include the construction of the Duta M/A Basic School, Denu R/C Basic School, and the fencing of Aflao Tokor Junior High School.

Mr Paul Alossode, Headmaster of the Duta M/A Basic School, expressed gratitude to Diamond Cement for constructing both their Primary and Junior High School’s pavilion saying it has led to many parents within the Duta community to enroll their wards in the school.

The headmaster said the importance of the facilities to the students reflected in the Basic Education Certificate Examination results of the first batch in the 2009/2010 academic year, where the school had a score of 100 per cent.

Mr Alossode appealed to Diamond Cement to come to their aid to construct a fence wall for the school and a teachers’ bungalow residence.

“We are always running to Diamond Cement for help because they are our only hope and we have no other option”, he said.