Heads of cooperations at the event
The Governments of Ghana and China yesterday signed an agreement on renewable energy technology transfer project to be embarked upon in the country over the next four years at the conference room of the UNDP, Accra.
The renewable energy transfer project between the two countries has been described as another South-South Cooperation made possible through a grant support of 2,720,000 USD from the government of Denmark.
The resident representative of UNDP, Gita Welch, in a welcome message said the signing ceremony consolidates the partnership between the governments of Ghana, UNDP, China and Denmark.
She continued that it is also a partnership that also includes Zambia as a second African country working with China through UNDP around the promotion of the UN’s sustainable energy for all.
Ms Welch further said that the launch of the programme would facilitate the development and transfer of renewable energy technologies from China to Ghana, provide support required to make the technologies effective, including training and capacity building and transfer of know-how.
She stressed that ‘we want this project to represent a best practice in South-South Cooperation; we want it to effectively address Ghana’s needs to increase universal energy access through off-grid community-based electrification and increased share of renewable energy.’
Ms Welch further added that the project would support broader socio-economic and environmental objectives, namely poverty reduction as well as focus strongly on private sector development in a fast growing economy like Ghana.
She pointed out that local entrepreneurs must be helped to overcome the various challenges that they still face in the course of their businesses such as gaps in regulation, lack of access to innovative technologies and finance as well as high collateral requirements, among others.
China’s ambassador to Ghana, Sun Baohong, said, ‘My country is happy to extend its energy conservation technologies to Ghana’, assuring that China would ensure a smooth implementation of the project in Ghana.
The representative of the government of Denmark, Karin Poulsen, said Denmark is poised to strengthen the South-South Cooperation among countries with focus on drawing common synergies to help improve the living standards of people.
The Executive Secretary of Energy Commission, Dr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, expressed appreciation to the donors for the implementation of the project.
Dr Ahenkorah said his outfit has put structures in place to map out the country in order to identify the various natural resources available to tap into for development of the country.
By Solomon Ofori
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