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The Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy has commended the management of AngloGold Ashanti, Ghana, for the appreciable packages it has awarded 1,000 retrenched workers of the Obuasi operation, saying that if managed properly, the affected workers must �not suffer.� The team, led by Dr Kwabena Donkor, Member of Parliament (MP) for Pru in the Brong Ahafo Region, paid a two-day working visit to the mines to assess the retrenchment exercise and to study the sustainability plan of AngloGold for the next generation. The company on July 18 presented to government a master plan on how the mines could be sustained for the next generation. It is before the Minerals Commission for study of which government will be advised appropriately. The team said a preliminary study of the document looked very promising �but of course we will need to do a careful study and if possible make inputs,� Mr Kwaku Kwateng, MP, Obuasi West, told the Daily Graphic in a chat, during the visit. �Naturally no one should be happy if someone is being sent home, I think the situation at AngloGold has been managed properly, and I am OK with it�, he said. Retrenchment/challenges AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine is currently undergoing a change to ensure the survival and profitability of the mine, which is 117 years old. One thousand employees have been retrenched and more are expected to follow. The company is currently engaging with stakeholders, particularly, the government, the unions and employees for their support. �The unions are happy and the workers are also happy; thanks to the package being paid to the workers�, one of the long-serving miners, 54-year-old Kwaku Amoakoada, who had worked for 28 years, said. Dr Donkor expressed satisfaction with the professionalism of the employees, and urged them to double their efforts to help the mine solve its current challenges. The MPs were also happy with the company�s engagement with its stakeholders, especially the government and the transparent manner in which it was discussing its challenges. In a presentation, the AngloGold Ashanti, Ghana, Senior Vice President, Mr Mark Morcombe, outlined the challenges facing the Obuasi operation and told the MPs that though Obuasi had the right resources and reserves, infrastructure at the mines needed to be developed to enable it to sustainably produce more gold on profitable basis. MD of Obuasi Mine The Managing Director of the mine, Mr Fred Attakumah, said in spite of the company�s challenges, it was walking its talk in terms of sustainable, and community interventions in Obuasi and other parts of the country. He said the AngloGold Ashanti Community Trust Fund, recently inaugurated GH�600,000 projects in communities in Obuasi and Amansie to improve lives in those communities. The MD said in line with its value of ensuring that communities in which the company operated benefited from its presence, the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Malaria Programme with its partners, especially the Switzerland-based Global Fund, was upscaling the Obuasi anti-malaria programme in 40 districts to reduce malaria cases.