The Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) has cautioned against political expediency in ensuring a full implementation of Ghana’s nuclear power programme and project to transform the economy sustainably.
While noting that funding and public fear were threats to Ghana’s journey of adding nuclear to its energy mix, the Institute said the number one risk to the implementation of the country’s nuclear power programme and project was politics.
Professor Seth Debrah, Director, NPI, said this at the end of a three-day training programme for some media professionals in Accra on the theme: ‘Shaping the perception of nuclear power technology in Ghana, the Media factor’.
He said it was time political parties governed the country with long-term national development plans and not four-year manifestos.
He said a long-term development plan would find a place for the development and management of nuclear power programme and project for reliable, safe, and affordable electricity to power industries for a transformative economy.
‘
A nuclear power programme is not for four years, and the project implementation does not even take four years to be completed [it takes a minimum of six to 12 years]. It transcends political visions and parties,’ he said.
On the economic capacities of a nuclear plant, Prof Debrah gave an example in UK, where a couple turned food vending business at the start of a nuclear power plant into a £1 million business.
Prof Debrah, a Nuclear Scientist, encouraged Ghanaians to embrace nuclear energy as the country worked towards establishing its first nuclear power plant by 2030, reiterating its safety.
‘Although we cannot ignore the risks of a nuclear power plant, including accidents and radiations, it’s important to know that there’s zero margin of error, and adopting it has the tendency to change standards in our country,’ he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency