By Hannah Dadzie
Facebook: Hannah Pinky Ama Dadzie
Twitter: @DadziePinky
Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, has indicated that some countries including China, South Korea, and the US have expressed interest in the Ghana nuclear energy project which will help power generation in the country.
In an interview with GBC News, after a 7-Member Board the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission in Accra, Dr. Afriyie said Ghana has a very rich nuclear history and culture, adding that the government would speed up work to ensure Ghana tapes its nuclear potential because the knowledge and technical know-how is there. He said plans are far advanced to ensure the country starts its nuclear power generation within the shortest possible time since fossil fuel is facing out.
“The Board has come in at a very crucial moment in Ghana’s development, especially with regard to energy; and the decisions that we are going to take would impact on the country’s rapid development”, Dr Afriyie said
The Minister urged the Board to make GAEC more visible in its operations, saying that the country needs nuclear energy more than any other time in its history. He said there was a need to generate more energy to meet the growing demand in the country.
“I know we will go through a transition; we will use gas and all that but the geographical development of Ghana is such that our hydro resources used to be the number one, is still very important, except that we have exhausted almost all the potentials. Coal is a dirty fuel, even the oil is also a biofuel. So, if we are going to transition, then it means at the terminal end we have to look at nuclear energy as a saviour of some sort.” Dr Afriyie indicated
Chairman of the Board, Dr. Kweku Aning expressed gratitude to the government for the honour done to them. He said the board will bring its expertise to bear to ensure Ghana’s nuclear energy, which is a power technology, comes to fruition.
“Nuclear technology was the most powerful technology ever known to man in two senses. The same technology that can be used to destroy Accra, can be used to determine whether a five-month-old baby is getting enough nutrition; so, its width and breadth of application is very broad”, Dr. Aning said.
He said nuclear technology was very rich but it had a downside, which was safety; adding that, there was a new nuclear regulatory body, which was taking care of the issue of safety.
Other members of the Board include Professor Benjamin Jabez Botwe Nyarko, Director-General, GAEC, Mrs Cynthia Asare Bediako, Chief Director, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Elsie Effah Kaufmann of the University of Ghana, Justice Dennis Dominic Adjei, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, and Dr Robert Adjaye, Director of Research Survey and Administration at AIESEC.
