News
Bedabo community in frenzy…over installation of £70,000 solar park
Ms Magdalena Sikorowska speaking at the commissioning of the solar panel
Bedabo, a community in the Atwima Nwabiagya Municipality in the Ashanti Region, was thrown into frenzy when a photovoltaic power station (solar park) was commissioned to provide electricity for about 2000 inhabitants at the weekend.
The development was under the auspices of the Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) in collaboration with Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) and SNV Netherlands.
It was a joyous moment for the inhabitants whose hopes of having electricity ended up in smithereens when government’s plans to bring electricity to the area was abandoned.
That clearly explained the excitement that engulfed the community as the inhabitants showed appreciation to the institutions that brought joy to the area.
The Krontihene of the town, Nana Omono Asamoah, confirmed that in 2008, there was an attempt by the government to extend electricity to the area but it had been abandoned, with the electrical cables loosely hanging on the poles.
He was full of praise to SESA and AAMUSTED for the project which he said had made the town a ‘talking point’, and appealed for an extension of the project to the other communities to boost education in the areas.
Photovoltaic is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, typically including an inverter, a battery pack for energy storage, a charge controller, interconnection wiring and circuit breakers.
The 20 kilowatts photovoltaic power station has about 10 interconnected solar panels which absorb the sunlight and generate energy through the photoelectric effect.
It was developed by Nastech, a Ghanaian Company that received an amount of €70,000 by SESA to build the system for eight communities in the Municipality.
Ms Magdalena Sikorowska, SESA Project Coordinator, said SESA was a collaborative project between the European Union and nine African countries, including Ghana.
She said it was their aim “to provide energy access technologies and business models that were easily replicable, and generate local opportunities for economic development and social cohesion in Africa”.
Ms Sikorowska said her outfit would continue to work with stakeholders like AAMUSTED, which is the host institution of the project, to delve deeper into energy technology solutions to better the lives of Ghanaians.
Dr Ing. Albert Awopone, Senior lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Education of AAMUSTED, indicated that originally the system was meant to be installed in two selected Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Municipality, Nkawie and Toase SHS, to provide light for the ICT laboratories to enable students learn in the night.
“But we realised that these schools are already connected to the national grid, and that brought us to BedabO community,” he mentioned.
He said it was time for the government to embrace photovoltaic power systems and invest in them because they have an uninterrupted power supply and were cheaper.
According to Dr Awopone, the installation of the photovoltaic system in Bedabo “is part of our SESA innovation project in trying to solve energy situation in the country by providing sustainable solutions using green energy”.
Mr Eric Anarfi, Atwima Nwabiagya Municipal Coordinating Director, could not hide his joy about the project, thanking SESA for what he said would enhance education in the community.
On his part, Mr Samuel Asare of Nastech, said with the €70,000, they would develop a similar system for eight communities in the Municipality, stressing that three had been built, with two at Bedabo and one at Kwame Dwa with the rest in the offing.
He indicated that SNV Netherlands earlier gave a grant of GHȻ36,000 as a startup, after he had gone through a six-month Incubation/Acceleration Programme under the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project.
Energy Advisor of SNV Netherlands, Odjobi Kwakye, said they would not relent in their support to develop the skills of young Ghanaian would-be entrepreneurs’ green energy solutions.
Earlier, SESA launched two biofuel stoves at the Nkawie and Toase SHS to improve the health of cooking staff of the schools as the device was smokeless.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Atwima Nwabiagya
News
GES directs Ashanti Regional, Obuasi Municipal Education Directors to step aside over Obuasi SHTS scandal
The Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Dr. William Amankrah Appiah, and the Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, Mr. Kwamena Owusu-Nketiah, to step aside with immediate effect.
The directive forms part of ongoing investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Mr. Zakaria Abdulai.
According to GES, the decision is intended to ensure that the investigations proceed without potential interference, nor the perception of it.
The two directors are to hand over their offices and all state property in their possession to the Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mr. Thomas Kwame Boateng.
Management added that the headmaster, Mr. Zakaria Abdulai, also remains interdicted and therefore urged the public to ignore any news circulating that he has been cleared.
Management is calling for calm, support and cooperation as thorough investigations into the matter continue.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has joined the family of the late Professor Jason Atta Kwei Arday, the Ghanaian community in the UK, and other dignitaries for a memorial service in Southwark, UK.
In a post, Mr. Ablakwa described the service as deeply moving and unforgettable, held in honour of the late professor’s memory.
According to him, in keeping with the government’s pledge, he joined the family, Ghana’s High Commissioner to London, British MPs, Ministers, the Mayor of London, Cambridge scholars, Prof. Arday’s students and loved ones to pay respects and honour his inspiring legacy.
Mr. Ablakwa noted that Prof. Arday’s accomplishments as the youngest Black professor appointed at the University of Cambridge and his widely appreciated charitable contributions will continue to inspire generations.
“The Government and People of Ghana will continue to stand by our compatriots everywhere they are in the world. As we do so, we profess our commitment to justice, equality and the creation of a new world,” he said.
He prayed for fortitude for the family in what he described as an extraordinarily difficult time.
“We shall always remember Prof. Arday for his response when asked what he will wish to do to change the world: ‘I would take a thread and a needle, and I’d interweave love into our society’,” Mr. Ablakwa added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
