Ghana’s Ministry of Energy has distributed one thousand (1000) cookstoves to residents of James Town, a suburb of Accra, during an outreach programme oganised by the Ministry in collaboration with Women-in-Energy at Mantse Agbonaa.
The initiative, which falls under a cylinder recirculation model (CRM), was aimed at complementing the effort of LPG consumers since they would no longer need to buy or own a cylinder under the CRM.
Under the CRM, LPG marketers would provide branded cylinders, get them filled at LPG bottling plants and transport them to exchange points where consumers would then go with their empty cylinders to exchange for filled ones.
The outreach programme was attended by hundreds of residents of James Town, including ‘queenmothers’ of the area and the Manye of the Osu Traditional Area.
The Osu Manye advised the residents to consider using clean energy for cooking and avoid using firewood and charcoal since they are harmful to their health.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy, Mrs. Wilhelmina Asamoah, charged the residents to switch to LPG usage to protect themselves from the effects of using charcoal and firewood for cooking.
Energy Minister Mr Herbert Krapa charged the Chief Director of the Ministry to ensure that the outreach programme is organised four times to ensure that more people hear the good news about using clean energy for cooking.
“Firewood and coalpot have damaged our eyes and we can’t continue this traditional form of cooking,” he said.
“We are concerned about the well-being and health of our mothers who spend hours to cook using charcoal and firewood. It is something that is very detrimental to their health and in response we are giving them cookstoves to help them to engage in clean cooking,” added.
Personnel from the Ghana Fire Service sensitised the residents to fire safety and how to prevent burns.
They advised the gathering to always light the matches before they turn on the regulator or gas cylinder and also switch off the regulator immediately after use to prevent children from playing with the gas cylinder.
Sarah Naa Dedei Agbey, a representative of Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuel, urged the residents to embrace clean energy for cooking to prevent health hazards and save the environment.
Source: htts://energynewsafrica.com