By
Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Sept. 17, GNA – Mr John Peter Amewu,
the Minister of Energy, on Monday pledged the Ministry’s support to build the
competencies of researchers in order to undertake various researches into
pressing national policies for optimal benefit to Ghanaians.
He noted that, for good government policies to
succeed, there was the need to undertake research to garner inputs from
experienced researchers.
Mr Amewu made the remarks at the establishment
of the Environment and Natural Resource Research Unit (ENRRU) at the Department
of Economics, University of Ghana, in Accra.
The ENRRU is intended to focus on high-quality
policy-relevant research as well as research capacity building among decision-
makers and academics.
“My doors are open for discussions on how to
make ENRRU succeed and I am happy to support this initiative within my capacity
as the Energy Minister of the country,” Mr Amewu assured.
The Minister said as a developing nation,
endowed with significant amounts of renewable and non-renewable natural
resources, there was the need to research into the rate of extinction of those
natural resources, in order to keep decision-makers informed to safeguard the
interest of the citizenry.
“The development of our human capital, is a
very intangible assets, in this regard, we will go a long way to optimising the
policy decisions taken by government for the good people of Ghana.
“As decision makers, though we have experts at
our various sectors, we sometimes struggle when determining which policy
directions to take due to inadequate high-quality policy-relevant researchers.
“Based on that, I welcome the noble idea of
having this Research Unit at the University,” Mr Amewu assured.
The Minister cited the gaps in the country’s
fisheries regulations coupled with inadequate enforcement of catch rules, which
had created opportunities for foreign vessels to plunder the country’s fish
stock with little benefit to Ghanaians.
Mr Amewu said over the years, the country had
relied predominantly on hydropower, which is susceptible to drought; therefore,
government was exploring avenues to improve the energy mix to ensure a
reliable, adequate and sustainable energy supply for domestic use, as well as
biomass and waste energy and wind power.
He said government had plans of promoting
renewable energy among off-grid communities across the country.
GNA