Dangote Cement Plc has inked a new, improved five-year Community Development Agreement (CDA) with the host communities of its Ibese facility as a show of its dedication to the human capital and infrastructure development of its host communities.
The Ibese factory of Dangote Cement’s management stated that the action was taken to demonstrate the company’s dedication to the welfare of the locals in all communities.
With the signature of the new agreement, each of the host communities will have the right to particular initiatives that will improve their residents’ quality of life and ability to support themselves during the next five years, from 2022 to 2026.
The signing of the CDA represents the start of a new dawn for the Company and the host communities in the implementation of the laid out social investment initiatives within the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) operations, according to Azad Nawabuddin, Director of the Dangote Cement, Ibese Plant.
He claims that the CDA outlines Dangote Cement’s Ibese Plant’s commitment to constructing infrastructure projects for the well-deserving host communities’ socioeconomic development.
We are here as important stakeholders to fulfill the requirements of Sections 116 of the Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 and 193 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Minerals and Mining Regulation of 2011.
“As a responsible corporate entity, this event shows our dedication to the growth and general well-being of our host communities and their residents. Additionally, it offers a chance to update and extend an existing cooperation between Dangote Cement and its key stakeholders in order to support the government’s endeavor to grow the country.
The first Community Development Agreement between Dangote Cement Plc. and its host communities was signed in 2013. This signaled the start of tangible social and infrastructure support in the areas of employment, education, health, training, and empowerment, as well as roads, potable water, electrification, and other things that have greatly improved the quality of life in our communities.
The new CDA is an improvement because it is designed to outperform prior performance by having a beneficial impact on all stakeholder groups, particularly the most vulnerable members of our communities. With the help of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, we put this together by applying all the lessons discovered during the implementation of the previous plan and actively engaging with the many stakeholder groups throughout the now seventeen (17) host communities.
The obligations of the Plant and the host communities for mutual growth and development are stated in the contract in clear detail, along with the consultative structure for engagements, grievance handling, and obligations. Once all parties are committed to its full implementation, it is clearly a path to define relationships, commitments, obligations, and expectations with the potential to address both current concerns and potential future social issues that may arise in the relationship between the Plant and our host communities.
Nawabuddin then expressed the management’s gratitude to the host communities’ royal fathers, who signed the CDA, for the peace and tranquility in the localities, which had allowed the Company to operate without hindrance. There had been a few disagreements here and there, but they had always been quickly settled in everyone’s best interests.
The Olu of Aga-Olowo, Oba Kayode Adio Kusoro, spoke during the occasion and thanked the management of Dangote Cement for their cordial welcome and dedication to their CSR for the host villages.
The monarch praised the corporation for being open and transparent during the signing of the comprehensive deal, but he also expressed his hope that the company will adhere to the terms of the contract.
The Olu of Imasayi, Oba Lukmon Olalekan Adeleke Kuoye, gave his own evaluation of the occasion, saying that the signing of the new agreement marked a clear departure from earlier exercises because all of the host communities’ and stakeholders’ representatives took part in the review and signing of the new agreement.
He asserted that Dangote Cement owes the communities ongoing cooperation to guarantee that the company runs in a crisis-free environment, something he told the royal fathers he would endeavor to achieve.
The Aboro of Iboroland, Oba Daniel Abayomi Salako, expressed his approval of the new arrangement, which he thought was better and more inclusive than the previous ones, in his own remarks. He declared, “This CDA is beneficial to us all. Even while the new agreement is currently only valid for the seventeen host villages and cannot extend to all of Yewaland, it is still subject to future changes that will include legacy initiatives for the benefit of Yewaland’s citizens.
Oba Abayomi expressed grateful to the cement firm for upholding its Corporate Social Responsibilities to the host communities while pleading the Yewa communities not included in the current 5-year agreement to be patient with the company.
The Awijako of Ijako Orile, Oba Rev. Mathew Alabi Ewedairo, stated in his own comment that the signed agreement was meant to hasten the socioeconomic development of the host communities and that he has unwavering trust and confidence in Dangote Cement Plc, Ibese management to keep their end of the bargain.
