Telecel Ghana has been awarded the prestigious Corporate Excellence Award in recognition of its leadership in workplace safety at the maiden edition of the National Safety Awards 2025.

The telecommunications giant was selected after a rigorous national evaluation process, which measured safety performance, innovation, and safety culture in the workplace and host community.

It was organised by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) under the theme ‘Recognising Excellence, Inspiring a Culture of Safety’ at their headquarters in Accra.

The National Safety Awards brought together top safety leaders, corporate executives, and government dignitaries, including the Minister of the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, and the Acting Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of GNFS, Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sarpong.

The GNFS Safety Directorate, in its citation, lauded the telco for setting a national benchmark in workplace and community safety.

It said, “Telecel Ghana’s exceptional commitment to safety excellence and its role in building a robust safety culture in Ghana serve as an inspiration to others and demonstrate that safety excellence is achievable across all sectors. We are honoured to celebrate your achievements.”

The award particularly commended Telecel’s forward-thinking fire prevention protocols, extensive employee safety training, and its collaborative engagements with emergency services to enhance incident response systems.

“This recognition is a national endorsement of the safety-first culture we have cultivated at Telecel Ghana over the years.

"We have embedded best safety practices and sensitisation into our daily operations to protect, educate, and empower our people,” said Rachael Appenteng, Director of Human Resources at Telecel Ghana, who received the award together with the telco’s Health and Safety team.

The National Safety Awards 2025 marks the first national-scale initiative to spotlight and reward safety leadership across sectors, including hospitality, foods, retail, publishing, finance and pharmaceuticals, among others.

Its inauguration signals a growing emphasis on workplace safety as an essential pillar of national development.

Speaking at the event, Muntaka-Mubarak reiterated the importance of building a nationwide culture of safety and called on all Ghanaians to take shared responsibility in safeguarding lives and property.

“From the boardroom to the street vendor, let’s embrace the culture of safety and make it a civic duty to protect lives and secure properties in Ghana. I encourage all award winners to return with a renewed sense of duty to support national safety initiatives,” the minister said.

In her address, Acting CFO Ntow Sarpong stated that the GNFS has issued over 9,000 fire permits, conducted approximately 32,000 fire safety audits and inspections, delivered more than 33,000 public education campaigns, and helped save over GH¢354 million worth of property.

Although the GNFS recorded a slight increase of 0.53 per cent in fire incidents in 2025 alone, CFO Ntow Sarpong said the service plans to intensify public education, enforce safety laws and introduce a fire safety syllabus in the basic schools to minimise the incidence of fires.

“Safety awareness, when started young, will become something they will adopt and help us in our old age to continue doing the right things in our homes and workplaces.

"Let’s make safety a habit in our homes, schools, markets, workplaces and all sensitive areas,” she said.

Over the past 10 years, Telecel Ghana has maintained a zero-fatality record and has been recognised as a Top Employer for seven consecutive years by the global Top Employer Institute, reflecting the strength of its health, safety and wellbeing policies.