President Is In No Way Confused -Minister

Committee for power reactor established

Accra, April 17, GNA - A special committee to explore the possibility of using nuclear power to produce electrical energy has been set up, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, Minister of Energy said on Tuesday.

Addressing the media at a press conference in Accra on nuclear power and the current energy crises, he said, the committee had not been given any specific time frame within which to work, but was expected to come out with its recommendations as early as possible.
Mr Adda said based on the recommendation, government would then take steps towards the establishment of a nuclear plant if need be.
"This is a long term project, which needs to be carefully planned and not done in a rush. In the meantime, Government is still working at solving the energy problem as well as finding solutions to address the short and medium term energy needs of the country," the Energy Minister said.
He expressed the hope that the committee, chaired by Professor Daniel A. Bekoe, Chairman of the Board of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), would come out early for government to take a position on the issue, adding that a lot of other alternatives such as wind and solar power uses were also being explored in collaboration with private entrepreneurs.
Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Information and National Orientation cautioned the media against misinformation regarding Ghana's establishment of a nuclear plant saying, the President was yet to take a position on the subject matter.
"The President is in no way confused, but was rather weighting all the recommendations so as to come out with the best decision." Cabinet, he noted, was also awaiting the recommendations of the special committee before selecting an option.
He said Ghana had not been able to take a decision on the establishment of a nuclear power reactor since the proposals were first made in line with the establishment of GAEC in 1963 because of the country's chequered political history.
Mr Bartels was however optimistic that the project would take off as soon as the recommendations were made for its establishment.