Coal-fired power plant, not solution to Ghana’s energy crisis -- Nana Afenyi VI

Nana Amuah Afenyi VI, Chief of Ekumfi Otuam and Mankrado of Ekumfi Traditional Area in the Central Region of Ghana, has expressed her disappointment and shock at plans by the Volta River Authority (VRA) to construct a coal-fired power plant at the Ekumfi Traditional area to ease the erratic power supply in Ghana.

Speaking at her Silver Spring residence in Maryland, United States of America (USA) she told “The Afrikan Post”, a Virginia based Ghanaian newspaper “Even though I understand the anticipation and eagerness of my colleague Chiefs and people of the area because for them, the project would create jobs for the people to ease unemployment in the area but the health hazards from the project, outweighs the benefits”.

Nana Amuah Afenyi, one of the few female Chiefs in Ghana, is therefore appealing to the Government to intervene to stop the project from going ahead since it will bring residents more health problems than ease their already precarious situation.
She said she is aware of the daily stress and hardship her subjects are going through as a result of unemployment but would not support the citing of a coal-fired power plant in the Ekumfi area because it will present serious threat to the safety of the community, threaten both water bodies, including drinking water, the air quality of the community and even the fishes in the sea.

Nana Amuah Afenyi, known in private life as Peggielene Bartels and based in the US said, in this era of climatic change and the fight against ecological destruction, it was surprising that Ghana should be pursuing coal-fired power plant at a time even richer nations like the United States and European states are phasing out power generation from coal-fired power plants.

She said the US that is far richer and technologically advanced with over 600 coal plants across the US, has started reducing her dependence on coal because of the health hazards and the desire to use clean energy.
The Ekumfi Mankrado was reacting to media reports that the Volta River Authority (VRA) was planning to implement a coal-fired power plant in the Ekumfi area of the Central Region in collaboration with the Chinese to deal with the power problems facing the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Volta River Authority (VRA) held a public forum to assess the environmental impact of the proposed coal-fired power plant at Ekumfi Aboano.
The forum, held in the Ekumfi District, was attended by Chiefs, opinion leaders and the inhabitants of the five coastal communities that would be affected by the project.
The communities are Aboano, Immuna, Otuam-Kontankore, Kokodo and Sarfa-Npoano
The project, estimated to cost $1.5 billion will be financed by the Chinese African Development Fund and would be constructed by Shenzhen Energy over a five year period and is estimated to add 700 MW to the national grid.
Ghana, Nana Amuah said, is richly endowed and has the potential of becoming a solar power producer because of the vast savanna land in the Northern part of the country; along the coastal belt, Ghana also has enough wind to propel windmills to generate power, she added.
She said Ghana has enough power generating sources like hydro power from Akosombo, Kpone and Bui, thermal plants in the Western Region and Asogli power plant in the Volta Region.
In addition, she said, Ghana also has emergency power plants like the Osagyefo Barge in the Western Region and Karlpower plants in Tema in the Greater Accra Region.
These energy sources, Nana Amuah said, could generate all the energy needs of Ghanaians if good management practices are put in place for efficient distribution.
“This is why I am in support of government’s efforts at collaborating with Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) of the US to restructure the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG) to make it more efficient in the distribution of power in the country”, she said.
On the Health hazard that comes with the coal-fired power plant, she said coal plants, as source of electricity is under attack all over the world because of its threat to the health of communities wherever coal-plants are cited.
Research, has shown that communities and workers of coal-fired power plants often suffer from ‘Black Lung’ or pneumoconiosis from breathing in coal dust. This results in shortness of breath and puts individuals at risk for emphysema, bronchitis and fibrosis, Nana Amuah said, adding “black lung is now on the rise and is incurable”.
Beyond posing threats to communities and worker’s safety, pollution from coal-fired power plant is linked to chronic illness among residents in communities, she said.
Communities where coal-fired power plants are cited, stand the risk of developing kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as emphysema and high blood pressure (hypertension), she lamented saying “mortality rates are also very high among coal-fired power plant workers and communities”.
Across the world, surveys conducted among workers and residents show that individuals living near a coal-fired power plant are at higher risk for health problems than those who do not live near the plant.
Nana Amuah Afenyi said for years, she is been working very hard to find companies that could come to the Ekumfi area to create jobs for her people and should be jubilating such a project was finally coming to the area but “with my experience in the US, I cannot support a project that would bring my people more health problems than the provision of a healthy, happier life.