UC Alscon-Russal Commissions new water project in Ediduo Village Aniefiok MACAULEY As part of its social contract with the host communities, the management of Alscon-Russal, a leading multinational producer of aluminium, has commissioned a new water project in Ediduo village, Ikot Abasi LGA, Akwa Ibom State. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Director, Public/Government Relations of company, Mrs. Tatyana Smirnova, said the project was the second to be provided for the people of Edemaya clan and the 15th in Ikot Abasi council area. According to her, “The project we are commissioning today is the second water project our company has provided for the people of Edemaya clan”, adding; “It is also the 15th project the company has undertaken in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area since the programme was initiated in 2010”. In her words “Indeed, the event is a fulfillment of the assurance the management of ALSCON gave recently that despite the challenges facing the company, ALSCON will continue to implement projects which help to improve the well-being of the people of Ikot Abasi and the neighbouring communities”. The project, she said is expected to reduce water-borne diseases prevalent in local communities in the country and provide a dependable source of potable water for over 1,000 people in Ediduo and the surrounding communities. In her view, it complements the Federal Government’s current goal of ensuring that 75% of Nigerians have access to safe drinking water by 2015 and the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and World Health Organization’s efforts to reduce the number of people suffering from lack of potable which is a major contributor to Cholera and other diarrheal diseases in the developing world. Smirnova lamented that some unresolved issues surrounding the company has hampered the speed of progress the company ought to have made to ensure abundant product in the Nigerian market and also boost the economy. “At the same time the Company is going through one of its toughest periods. The key challenges facing the plant are as follows: unresolved problem of ensuring an uninterrupted supply of gas to the smelter; deteriorating global market environment for aluminium; continued legal uncertainty around the smelter following the judgment of the Nigerian Supreme Court dated 6 July 2012 and unresolved issue of connection of ALSCON power plant to the federal power grid”, she disclosed. She called on the federal government to expedite action at resolving these lingering bottlenecks that led the company to the crisis. She maintained that the smelter which also plays a vital role in providing employment to the youth of Akwa Ibom State has contributed significantly to the Government program of stabilization of the situation in the Delta region of the Niger River. The company spoke person stated further that ALSCON has not suspended any social programme aimed at improving the wellbeing of the residents of local communities: Explaining issues of staff and host communities welfare, she said “ALSCON provides free electricity 24/7 to 30,000 residents of Ikot Abasi, ALSCON provides water in our local communities and four water projects have been commissioned in 2013, making a total of 15 water projects that the company has commissioned. Smirnova also informed that in June 2013, the annual ALSCON scholarships were awarded to 52 indigent students, pointing that over 200 students have benefited from ALSCON scholarship from 2009 to 2013 while three schools in Ikot Abasi receive a monthly support of N720, 000 from ALSCON. edition 6
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 08:30:03 +0000
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