The Director of Administration at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Mr. Felix Adiku has described Nuclear Power as a necessity for accelerated growth and sustainable energy in Ghana.
The DOA made this submission at the open day ceremony of the Africa Scientific Renaissance Day Celebrations held in Accra.
The Africa Scientific Renaissance Day is a day set-aside by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU), to remind African governments and people about the critical roles played by Science and Technology in national development.
According to Mr. Adiku, as GAEC has the sole mandate of advising government on matters relating to nuclear energy as well as science and technology the commission will not relent in its efforts to ensure accelerated growth and sustainable energy.
He said, among several achievements, GAEC has successfully operated a Research Reactor for almost twenty years with clean records. He added that, this achievement together with advances in modern nuclear safety technologies, places the commission at a position to operate a power reactor successfully.
He acknowledged that the establishment of the graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS) and collaborations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other strategic international agencies have helped train the requisite manpower needed to successfully operate, maintain and decommission a nuclear power plant.
He expressed joy at the establishment of the Ghana Nuclear Power Organization (GNPO), which is to ensure the implementation of the nuclear power programme together with the Ministry of Energy, Energy Commission, Volta River Authority (VRA), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. He described the move as a demonstration of Ghana’s readiness to operate its first Nuclear Power Plant.
He called on all stakeholders and the general public to ignore negative perceptions about nuclear power but rather embrace the technology for accelerated growth and sustainable energy.
By: Thykingdom Kudesey
