The announcement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that Nuclear technology has been incorporated into the country’s power generation mix is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that Nuclear technology has been incorporated into the country’s power generation mix, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced.
He said the move was in consonance with the global collective commitment to the sustainable availability of power and the peaceful exploitation of nuclear energy for the benefit of citizens to enhance rapid industrialisation and propel economic growth.
A statement signed by the President and issued in Accra recalled that in 2008, the Cabinet had taken a decision to include nuclear energy in the country’s energy generation mix to pave the way for its inclusion into the National Energy Policy and Strategy.
“This led to the establishment of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) to oversee the implementation and coordination of the nuclear power programme.
“Ghana subsequently declared its intention to pursue a Nuclear Power Programme for peaceful purposes in August 2013, through a letter submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” it said.
It indicated that two other key institutions, namely, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) Ghana, an independent nuclear regulatory body, and the Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), a project company to take up the role and responsibility as owneroperator, had been established by the government.
The statement said satisfied with all the relevant obligatory technical issues related to the introduction of nuclear power, the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), through its technical institute, the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI-GAEC), and with support from other national bodies, had met all the Phase One nuclear infrastructure requirements, as recommended by the IAEA milestone’s approach.
Furthermore, it explained that in 2017 and 2019, the IAEA International Peer Review Mission, at the invitation of the country, undertook a review of the status of the country’s Phase One nuclear infrastructure development.
The newspaper says that 27.15 per cent power tariff increment for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), as approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), takes effect from today.
With its implementation, however, customers, depending on the category and consumption, will be paying slightly more, with the calculations, the inclusion of the statutory charges for VAT, as well as the streetlights and the national electrification levies.
With the new tariffs, residential consumers are the hardest hit, as they will now cumulatively pay 36.12 per cent more for what they consume on zero to over 600 units.
For lifeline users who consume from zero to 30 units, their increment is 28.52 per cent, while all commercial consumers of electricity and those within the special load tariff will pay five percent more.
On August 15, the PURC announced a 27.15 per cent increase in tariffs for electricity and 21.55 per cent for water, effective September 1, 2022.
That followed a proposal from the utility companies, the ECG and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), for an upward review of their tariffs to enable them to meet rising cost of operations and also be profitable in their operations.
Both service providers had requested over 100 per cent increment, but after consultations and discussions, the utility regulator announced the new tariffs.
Breaking down the numbers for the new tariffs, the Director of Communications of the ECG, William Boateng, explained that while the PURC-approved tariff was the collective average, depending on the category consumers were in, they could pay more or less.
“Let me use this simple analogy to explain. If 25 people eat 50 balls of kenkey, the assumption is that on the average each person will eat two balls. However, when you actually break it down, you will find out that while some people may eat just one, others may eat two and others even three or four balls.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for a broad national discussion on state funding of education in the country.
Responding to calls by some sections of the public for a review of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy due to its constraint on the government’s budget, the President said there was a need for a comprehensive national discourse on public spending on education.
At the moment, he said the government was spending on school feeding, nursing and teacher training allowances, public scholarships, among other expenditures in addition to the Free SHS policy
In a meeting with the leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, the President stressed the need for a discussion on public funding on education in general, instead of a review of Free SHS.
In terms of budgetary terms, he said Ghana spent the most on education in Africa, adding that that, notwithstanding, the amount spent on education in the country was still inadequate
“If it was adequate, we would deal with the amount we spend on students for the feeding programme, we would deal with the issue of training allowances, we would deal with the issue of scholarships, all these are direct result of budgetary constraints in the system,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo dismissed calls for a suspension or cancelation of the Free SHS policy due to budgetary constraint and insisted that the policy would not be reviewed under his administration.
“It is for a public good. The benefits for the nation and the society are obvious,” he said, indicating that almost all Ghanaian children now had access to basic education in the country.
The impact of the policy on enrolment, according to him, was a major achievement for the country, with 95 per cent of Ghanaian students now in school at the basic level.
However, at the tertiary level, he said the ratio of Ghanaian students in schools were just 20 per cent. He therefore stressed the need for policies to be put in place to increase tertiary enrolment to 40 per cent by the year 2030.
The newspaper says that over 1,500 delegates from 93 countries have registered to participate in the first-ever AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum, ACTIF2022.
It will held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, from September 1 to 3, 2022.
Barbados’ Prime Minister. Mia Amor Mottley; President Chandrikapersad Santokhi of Suriname, Chairman of CARICOM; and Amadou Hott, Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, Republic of Senegal are expected to address the forum.
CARICOM Chairman and other senior African and Caribbean officials will address inaugural ceremony
A statement issued by the organisers in Accra yesterday said the ACTIF2022 had been structured to provide an important opportunity for the Caribbean and African business communities to establish new commercial and strategic relationships to expand trade between the two regions and to source necessary inputs for the design and manufacture of high-value products.
“It will also enhance Government-Business relationships between Africa and the Caribbean and increase inter-regional trade and investment leads through effective business matchmaking. There is high level support for ACTIF2022’s intent to bolster bilateral cooperation and increase engagement in trade, investment, technology transfer, innovation, tourism, culture and other sectors.,” the statement said.
ACTIF2022 the statement said, was also expected to contribute to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the Caribbean trade development agenda, further reflecting the deep-rooted ties between Africa and the Caribbean based on their shared history, culture, common identity and destiny.
The theme for ACTIF2022 is ‘One People, One Destiny: Uniting and Reimagining Our Future’. Presentations and panel sessions will address key topics around deepening the trade and investment linkages between Africa and the Caribbean.
ACTIF2022 attendees will also witness the launch of the African Caribbean Trade and Investment Report
ACTIF2022 is being convened by the Government of Barbados and Afreximbank, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Africa Business Council, the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Export Development Agency.
The forum is being co-managed by Invest Barbados and Export Barbados.
The CEOs of both agencies are keen to facilitate the forum and have high expectations for the outcome of the three-day event.
GIK/APA