A staff of Ikeja Electric Plc, one of the distribution companies in the Republic of Nigeria, Popoola Olakunle, has been stabbed in the head in the course of carrying out his duties.
The incident occurred at the Oladeroun area of New Oko-Oba in the Fagba area of Lagos State.
The culprit, Saheed Olanrewaju aka Usama, a resident of 12, Abiodun Street, Iju-Ishaga in Fagba was subsequently apprehended on Tuesday, 16th March, 2021, with the assistance of the Traditional Ruler’s team and handed over to the Oko-Oko police station for immediate prosecution.
The management of Ikeja Electric has condemned the incident in a statement by the Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Felix Ofulue.
“Ikeja Electric will continue to condemn these attacks on its employees in strong terms,” he said. Ofulue pleaded with its customers to desist from attacking the staff of Ikeja electric.
“While we understand that sentiments regarding utility services can be quite emotive, we maintain that wanton attacks on our staff are completely irrational, irresponsible and unproductive, especially where Ikeja Electric has provided multiple channels through which our customers can lodge formal complaints with respect to our service” he added.
The suspect, Saheed Olanrewaju, who is currently in police custody, is expected to be arraigned in Court today.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Liberian Minister of Mines and Energy, Gester E. Murray has, emphasised the importance of the electricity sector in the Pro-poor agenda of President George Weah.
He made this known during the licensing ceremony recently held at the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) offices.
“As many of you may be aware that under the leadership of this government, Dr. Weah has mainstreamed electricity into his flagship program, which is the Pro-poor Agenda for peace and development,” Murray said.
He added that President Weah is doing everything in his power to ensure an improvement in the electricity sector.
The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Governor J. Aloysius Tarlue, who spoke at the event, pledged the Bank’s support in achieving a transformation of the sector to the benefit of Liberians in general.
The House of Representatives Chair of the Committee on energy and carbon, Vincent Willie, who attended the event, thanked the LERC and Liberia Electricity Corporation for their continuous efforts to improve the country’s electricity supply.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
China’s transition from the biggest polluter in the world to the leading force in renewable energy generation will completely transform its economy, a new report by Wood Mackenzie says.
Calling the upcoming changes tectonic, Wood Mac analysts noted the transition will require investments of $6.4 trillion in new power generation capacity alone over the next few decades, and said that while some of this will be spent on nuclear capacity, the bulk of investments would go towards boosting China’s solar and wind capacity, and the respective energy storage.
The economic powerhouse that is China today was built on crude oil and metals, the Wood Mac report says, but this has made the country excessively dependent on energy imports. At the current rate of oil imports, China will come to depend on foreign oil for as much as 80 percent of its needs by 2030. Half of the gas it consumes will be imported.
It is to avoid this that China is so determined to decarbonizes, according to the report: “For Beijing, energy independence and decarbonisation are inseparable: by winning the clean-energy race, China can cast off the shackles of its reliance on others and dominate the resources and technologies the world needs to decarbonise,” the authors noted.
The transformation from a fossil fuel-dependent economy into an electricity-dependent one will not be without challenges. Chief among these would be securing enough raw materials to expand the national transmission network to accommodate the 6,870 GW of new capacity that the country will require to satisfy its growing energy needs over the next forty years.
This would likely create another dependency, according to Wood Mac. While oil imports will eventually decline, copper imports are likely to jump significantly as the metal is essential for wind turbines, not to mention transmission lines and wiring. To date, China only produces 16 percent of the copper it uses domestically, with the rest coming from imports.
Source: Oilprice.com
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has assured players in the country’s petroleum downstream sector that the Ministry will work to provide the necessary space and support for the sector to play a strategic role in the development of the country.
He gave the assurance on Tuesday during separate meetings with the executives of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Union and the Tanker Owners’ Union at the Ministry.
The Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Union and Tanker Owners’ Union have been lamenting over some unresolved concerns which, they said was impacting negatively on their operations.
In November 2020, Gas Tanker Drivers’ Union withdrew their services, accusing the downstream regulator, NPA, of failing to address some issues of concern.
They, among other things, complained about police harassment at checkpoints and NPA’s lack of adherence to a 2017 Memorandum of Understanding signed by stakeholders on condition of service for tanker drivers and their mates.
They also complained about the non-compliance of transit losses and refusal of the depot operators to abide by the 20 degrees Celsius loading temperature requirement.
These issues still remained unresolved.
In a Facebook comment sighted by energynewsafrica.com, the Energy Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for South Manhyia in the Ashanti Region, wrote: “This morning, I held separate meetings with the executives of the Tanker Drivers’ Union and the Tanker Owners’ Union. The two unions called on me to formally welcome me to the energy sector and to discuss a few issues that are relevant to their operations.
“In both meetings, I emphasised the importance of tanker operations to the petroleum downstream industry, and urged the two to continue working together to find common ground to ensure stable supply of petroleum products. I was happy to receive assurances from the two unions that they will do their best to keep the industry moving,’’ his post read.
“The Energy Ministry will continue to provide the necessary space and support to the petroleum downstream industry to ensure that it continues to play its strategic role in the development of the nation,” the post ended.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Republic of Ghana will, by the end of March, 2021 connect 50MW solar farm executed by the country’s second largest state power generation company, Bui Power Authority, to the national electricity grid.
This will eventually boost electricity supply in the West African nation.
The 50MW solar farm, which is the first phase of 250MW solar project, is the second largest solar farm in West Africa after 50MW Akita solar farm in the Republic of Mali.
The first phase was commissioned November last year by Ghana’s former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo.
It will be the first solar utility scale to be connected to the national grid. Although there are three solar farms, generating power for the country none of them is on the national grid.
Dr. George Tettey, who is the deputy chief executive of BPA, told some selected journalists last week at a media engagement that engineers of BPA are currently conducting series of tests on the solar farm to ensure its integrity before it would be connected to the grid.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) in the Republic of Ghana has denied reports suggesting that they have started charging the new sanitation and pollution levy on petrol and diesel, hence the recent hike in fuel prices.
According to the Association, the recent upward adjustment in petrol and diesel prices are as a result of the rising crude oil prices on the world market and market forces and not the addition of the new levies being proposed by the government.
A litre of petrol is currently being sold at GHS5.4
In a statement signed by Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, who is the Industry Coordinator and CEO of the Association and copied to energynewsafrica.com, the Association said they would start charging the new levies when Parliament approves the 2021 Budget and Economic statement of the government.
“The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) would like to state unequivocally that, the current fuel prices on the market are not a reaction to the proposed taxes/levies, but rather the existing world crude oil prices and market forces.
“Subsequently, the impact of the proposed taxes/levies would only take effect when parliament has approved the 2021 Budget and assented by the President of the Republic of Ghana and duly gazetted,” the statement indicated.
The association served notice that it would react to the proposed new levies at the appropriate time.
Below is the full statement by the Association of Oil Marketing Companies
We have monitored on the media landscape, the enthusiastic reaction towards a purported increase in petroleum prices at the pump, following the proposed review on taxes/levies, as presented to parliament on Friday, 12th March 2021.
The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) would like to state unequivocally that, the current fuel prices on the market are not a reaction to the proposed taxes/levies, but rather the existing world crude oil prices and market forces.
Subsequently, the impact of the proposed taxes/levies would only take effect when parliament has approved the 2021 budget, assented by the President of the Republic of Ghana and duly gazetted.
At the appropriate time, OMCs will react accordingly, taking into cognizance the effective cost of operations.
Nevertheless, the AOMC is grateful to Government under the COVID-19 Support (Section 117), for the introduction of extension of the waiver of interest and penalties, as incentive for early payment of accumulated tax arrears.
However, we would like to propose a review on the condition that, beneficiaries must fulfill the first quarter tax obligation for the year 2021, and also consider the increment of the number of days for payment of petroleum taxes from 21 + 4 days to 40 days, to ensure effective collection of all adduced taxes.
Further, we would like to assure the general public that OMCs/LPGMCs will continue to pursue and uphold consumers’ interests and will always be at their service.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
A former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s largest state power generation company Volta River Authority (VRA), Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby has criticised the Akufo-Addo led administration for proposing new taxes on petrol and diesel.
According to him, there is no justification for the introduction of Sanitation and Pollution taxes on petroleum products.
He said the sector has become an easy avenue for the government to rake in money through new levies and taxes hence the many tax components for fuel purchased.
Speaking on Citi FM, based in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the former VRA boss noted that since the administration of President John Agyekum Kufuor, several taxes have been slapped on the petroleum sector, leading to the high cost of fuel with consumers continually bearing the cost.
“It is totally unjustified… There is no justification, it [petroleum products] just happens to be a low-hanging fruit that you can just slap anything on,” he said.
He suggested that some special taxes introduced for specific purposes should be scrapped to offer petroleum customers some relief rather than the introduction of new taxes.
“20 years ago, President Kufuor introduced what he called the Refinery Recovery levy. That was supposed to last for four years but 20 years on, it is still here, now as the energy sector recovery levy. In 2015, oil prices collapsed and Mahama government instead of reducing prices according to the formula said our revenues are down because the datum prices of oil have gone down, so we need to plough back revenue, so there was a 2-year special petroleum levy. I think 8 years on, it is still on. I will suggest that if these two temporary taxes which were meant to address specific issues were removed, that alone will reduce taxes,” he said.
Dr. Wereko-Brobby said, “the idea that sanitation taxes should be put on petroleum doesn’t make sense. I think government has been dishonest with the people of Ghana and not just see petroleum as the big cow for ripping off people.”
He expressed concern that any further increase in the price of petroleum products could lead to other aspects of the economy being affected negatively.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The world needs to shift energy investments to low-carbon energy sources and boost those investments by 30 percent to a total of US$131 trillion by 2050 if it is to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a report on Tuesday.
Currently, government plans envisage U$98 trillion in energy systems by the middle of this century, but this should be boosted by 30 percent so that the world remains on the 1.5 degrees Celsius path of the Paris Agreement goals, IRENA said in its World Energy Transitions Outlook.
The US$131 trillion cumulative investment by 2050 would mean annual investments of U$4.4 trillion in clean energy solutions.
More than 80 percent of the investment over the next three decades, or some US$4 trillion a year, needs to be invested in energy transition technologies (excluding fossil fuels and nuclear) such as renewables, energy efficiency, end-use electrification, power grids, flexibility innovation (hydrogen), and carbon removal measures, according to IRENA.
According to the agency’s analysis, US$24 trillion of investment should be redirected from fossil fuels to energy transition technologies over the period to 2050.
In the 1.5°C Scenario, fossil fuel production should decline by more than 75 percent by 2050, with total fossil fuel consumption continuously declining from 2021 onwards.
Oil demand would decline significantly by around 85 percent by 2050 compared to the 2018 level, IRENA said, while coal as power generation has to be phased out for reaching a 1.5°C Scenario.
Currently, even if many forecasters say that peak oil demand will occur within a decade or two, all of them see demand plateauing, not plunging, after the peak, while coal demand in Asia continues to rise, led by China, India, and Southeast Asia.
The 1.5°C Scenario will not only need a drastic reduction of oil and coal demand. It will also need a significant increase in renewable energy capacity, which needs to grow tenfold. This would mean that annually, the world will need more than 840 GW of new renewable capacity additions, up from around 200 GW added each year in recent years, IRENA said.
“The recent trends show that the gap between where we are and where we should be is not decreasing but widening. We are heading in the wrong direction,” IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera, said in a note in the report.
Source:Oilprice.com
The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), the implementing agency for Ghana Power Compact II has partnered with KonneKt World, a global professional, mentoring and coaching platform, for the express purpose of training female STEM graduates under the Ghana Power Compact Internship and Mentoring Program as well as National Service Persons in the Energy Sector.
This is in line with MiDA’s commitment to providing training, particularly for female graduates, in the skills required for entering the job market. The training program which is being delivered to 100 graduates within a two-week period began on Monday, March 8, 2021, International Women Day, and is expected to end on Friday, March 19, 2021.
The training is focused on how these recent graduates will launch their careers, in areas such as Self-Leadership and Leading others, how to conduct a job search, prepare winning Curriculum Vitae (CV) to highlight their talents, cover letters, coaching for Interviews and building professional networks for job opportunities as well as entrepreneurship, highlighting the entire process of creating a start-up business from an idea to developing a business plan to look for funding.
“We are happy with this partnership with KonneKt World, which is consistent with our objective supporting female students in STEM fields to gain practical skills relevant for the job market in the energy sector, build their confidence, and improve their coping skills to deal with the stereotypes and negative attitudes about women in STEM; as well as strengthen networking for employment opportunities”, a statement from the leadership of MiDA indicated.
Phyllis Kuenyehia, the CEO of KonneKt World, and Human Capital and Workforce Development Strategist said, these young female STEM graduates, through KonneKt, have found the right power source to push them to the ultimate in their careers. She believes that “the power of a woman lies strongly in her connection to the right power source, one that empowers her to explore all existing opportunities for growth”.
Geraldine Mensah-Dartey, a Data Scientist, a Career Transformation Strategist, and a storyteller is the lead trainer for the program. She told the participants and the sponsors, “my goal is to give people real, tangible examples and tools, through storytelling, that can make an immediate impact in their hearts, minds, and ultimately careers, no matter where they are in their journey.”
Geraldine Mensah-Dartey, a Data Scientist and Career Transformation Strategist
The Ghana Power Compact Internship and Mentoring Program (GPCIMP) is a program for young women in tertiary institutions, Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) offering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses to have relevant information, knowledge, and support to make career choices.
The KonneKt Mentoring program, dubbed the KonneKt Xperience, is designed to help its mentees expand their knowledge and skills, gain valuable advice from a more experienced person, and build their professional networks.
The KonneKt Xperience focuses on five (5) interest areas:
● Education
● Career
● Emotional Wellbeing
● Relationship
● Networking
From navigating through your educational or academic goals, career path choice, skills development, advice on working in a changing environment, establishing a balanced emotional wellbeing to managing professional and personal relationships, your KonneKt Mentor will guide you, answer your questions and share practical strategies for success.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The African Development Bank has committed $530 million to finance the construction of a 343 km, 400 kV central-south transmission line that will connect the north and south transmission grids in Angola and allow for the distribution of clean energy between the two regions.
The north of Angola has a surplus of more than 1,000 MW of mostly renewable power, whereas the south relies on expensive diesel generators, supported by government subsidies.
Transmission capacity will increase by 2,250 MW and eliminate the need for polluting, diesel-powered generators in southern provinces. The project, once operational in 2023, will avert the consumption of 46.8 billion litres of diesel per year in the south, cutting 80 megatons of CO2 emissions. The government of Angola will save more than $130 million per year in diesel subsidies.
The finance package, approved in December 2019 by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank, consists of $480 million in financing from the Bank, along with $50 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund, a $2 billion facility sponsored by the People’s Bank of China and administered by the African Development Bank.
The funding covers the first phase of the Energy Sector Efficiency and Expansion Program (ESEEP) in Angola, which will assist the government to connect the country’s transmission grids and tackle limited operational capacity within the Angolan power distribution utility ENDE. Around 80% of residential customers in Angola are not metered, resulting in financial losses and reliance on government subsidies. As part of the ESEEP, 860,000 pre-paid meters will be installed and 400,000 new customers will be connected to the grid and effectively metered.
At the regional level, the ESEEP will be the first step to enabling a connection to the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). The new transmission line will become the backbone for the distribution of power to the southern provinces of Angola and Namibia and will enable further power trading between countries in the region.
The funding follows two other recent Bank contributions to Angola’s energy sector strategy. In 2015, the Bank approved a $1 billion power sector reform loan for Angola, which resulted in the creation of an independent regulator and the unbundling of the sector into distribution, transmission and distribution companies.
Angola has significantly improved capacity, operational efficiency, and sustainability of the electricity sector. In the period 2015-2019, Angola’s total installed capacity in renewable energy rose from 1,017 MW to 2,763 MW, mainly through the improved exploitation of the country’s abundant hydropower.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has lost 104 employers and contractors to the covid-19, energynewsafrica.com can report.
The figure is out of the total number of 4,190 employees who have tested positive for the virus since its outbreak of the virus in the country in 2020.
This is contained in a press statement the company issued on Monday when it gave updates about steps being taken to address challenges in the country’s power sector.
“Eskom has recorded a cumulative 4,190 positive COVID-19 cases, including employees and contractors, as at 03 March, 2021.
“Sadly, we have lost 104 employees and contractors to the pandemic. We extend our sincere condolences to the affected families and relatives,” the statement said.
South Africa has recorded about 1,530,000 cases with 1,460,000 recoveries and 51,421 deaths.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s largest independent power producer, Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited, has outlined plans to make huge investment in the renewable energy sector to add to the country’s energy capacity.
The leading IPP in the West African nation has been operating 560MW combined cycle power plant in Kpone near Tema in the Greater Accra Region. It now wants to venture into RE to contribute to the government’s plan of achieving 10 percent of RE penetration into the country’s energy mix.
Making a presentation at a media encounter Friday, Assistant Manager in charge of Commerce at Asogli, Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor mentioned that Sunon Asogli is determined to power Ghana through RE in the area of wind, solar and waste –to- energy.
According to him, the company has completed feasibility study in the area of wind energy and wants to make an investment of US$127 million in that regard.
He added that the power entity is also currently conducting feasibility study to build 100MW solar farm at Dawa in the Ada District in the Greater Accra Region.
Apart from the above RE proposed projects, Asogli also wants to establish 35MW waste -to- energy power plant to take care of the country.
Elikplim Apetorgbor indicated that Shenzhen Energy Company, which is the parent company of Sunon Asogli, currently manages world’s largest waste to energy power plants in China and manages about 38,820 tonnes per day of waste and would, therefore, employ the best technology to ensure that Ghana’s waste would not only be recycled but also put into good use by generating electricity.
According to the 2020 World Bank report, Ghana generates three million tonnes of solid waste and spends GHS 6.7 million (EUR 1.15 million) annually managing it.
Elikplim Apetorgbor, said the World Bank report has projected that there would be growth in municipal waste and this is the reason why Asogli wants to come in to help Ghana to deal with it.
“We want to take care of the waste by putting it to good use by generating electricity,” he stressed.
The waste to energy plant which would be situated on a 25-acre land is expected to process about 1500 tonnes of waste per day.
Moratorium
The Government of Ghana has placed moratorium on the signing of new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) since 2018.
This is because the country currently has a total installed generation capacity of about 5,300MW while peak demand is hovering around 3,200MW.
The Government of Ghana pays around $500 million annually for excess power or power the country does not consume.
Mr Elikplim Apetorbor stated that Asogli would not require any of Government of Ghana’s guarantee for its proposed RE projects and, therefore, urged the government to lift the moratorium on signing new power purchase agreement to enable them execute the proposed projects which would contribute immensely to the economy in terms of power generation and job creation.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Liberia’s efforts to transform the lives of poor people have received a huge boost with financing approved by the World Bank.
Two new operations will increase access to sustainable, reliable and affordable energy, and boost economic recovery by providing employment opportunities and business skills training to vulnerable Liberians.
Funded by the International Development Association (IDA), these projects are aimed at improving Liberia’s economy and helping to build resilience for vulnerable households that are greatly at risk of falling into poverty due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The support programme includes the following:
• The Liberia Electricity Sector Strengthening and Access Project (LESSAP) is the first project of a multi-phase programmatic approach (MPA) with a goal to provide sustainable, reliable and affordable electricity to 632,500 Liberians. The project will rehabilitate and expand electricity infrastructure and provide sustainable solutions for electricity access. The LESSAP will target mainly two key areas – grid electrification in the greater Monrovia area and provide for a sustainable business model for scaling up renewable energy based mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems in remote areas. The project will also deliver off-grid solar electrification to about 200 health facilities, in particular to help build resilience against COVID-19. The total financing envelope for the MPA is $180 million in IDA support with the first phase commitment of $44 million in IDA credit and an IDA grant of $15 million. The project also includes grant support of $2.5 million from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and $2.7 million from Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD), both of which will be administered by the World Bank.
• The Recovery of Economic Activity for Liberian Informal Sector Employment Project (REALISE) will increase access to employment opportunities for some of the most vulnerable households in the informal sector who are at risk of falling deeper into poverty. The project will provide grants and business skills training to 4,000 vulnerable households to revive or start small businesses, as well as temporary employment and wages to 15,000 poor individuals, half of whom will be women. It will target low-income communities and poor families in Greater Monrovia. REALISE project will be implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment, utilising implementation capacities developed under the ongoing Liberia Youth Opportunities Project. The project will be financed through IDA concessional terms of $5 million credit and $5 million grant.
Improved energy access to stimulate economic growth
Poverty remains widespread in Liberia and is now on the rise. An estimated 44% of Liberians were living with less than $2 a day in 2016 and this is now projected to reach 52% in 2021. Access to healthcare, education and basic utilities like energy are also particularly low compared to the rest of the region.
“Given the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the economy and people’s livelihoods, improved energy access will
stimulate inclusive economic growth while support to the informal sector will help the most vulnerable Liberians to recover from the loss in incomes,” said Khwima Nthara, World Bank country manager in Liberia.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Liberia’s economy and people’s livelihoods and poses a major threat going forward. When the global pandemic emerged in early 2020, Liberia was already facing a challenging domestic and external environment. Weak consumption and declining output had caused the Liberian economy to contract by an estimated 2.3% in 2019 and a further 2.9% in 2020.
According to the High-Frequency Phone Survey of Households conducted by the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, more than 70% of households reported experiencing food shortage and increased food prices. This call for a comprehensive response focusing both on the need to protect the poor and vulnerable in the short term, as well as support economic recovery in the medium term.
“This is a demonstration of the Bank’s strong commitment to Liberia. The approved package of support will be a big boost to our COVID-19 recovery efforts and our vision to transform the economy through infrastructure development,” said Samuel D. Tweah Jr, Liberia’s minister of finance and development planning.
Source: Esi-Africa.com
The Government of Ghana, last Friday, announced plans to review the country’s Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) with the proposition of the introduction of Sanitation and Pollution levies on gasoline (petrol) and gasoil (diesel).
This will mean an additional 10 Ghanaian pesewas on both petrol and diesel.
Petroleum consumer advocacy group, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has criticised the government for this, describing it as a lazy approach.
But what is this new levy on fuel seeking to do?
According to the 2020 World Bank report, the 25 recycling companies in the West African nation pay at least Ghc 6.7 million (EUR 1.15 million) to plastic waste collectors as part of effort in managing waste.
The report projected that municipal waste in the country is expected to increase to about 52 and 70 percent between now and 2040.
Presenting the 2021 Budget and Economic Policy statement of the Akufo-Addo-administration, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Caretaker Finance Minister, Osei- Kyei Mensah explained why it has become necessary to introduce the new levies on petrol and diesel.
He said revenue realised would be used to do the following:
i. Improve urban air quality and combat air pollution;
ii. Support the re-engineering of landfill sites at Kpone and Oti;
iii. Support fumigation of public spaces, schools, health centres and markets;
iv. Revamp/reconstruct poorly managed landfill facilities;
v. Construct more sustainable state-of-the-art waste treatment plants both solid and liquid in selected locations across the country;
vi. Construct waste recycling and compost plants across the country;
vii. Construct more sanitation facilities to accelerate the elimination of open defaecation.
Viii.Construct final treatment and disposal sites for solid and liquid waste;
ix. Provide dedicated support for the annual maintenance and management of major landfill sites and other waste treatment plants and facilities across the country; and
x. Construct medical waste treatment facilities to prevent generation of infectious diseases especially under the Coronavirus Treatment Programme.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
They, among other things, complained about police harassment at checkpoints and NPA’s lack of adherence to a 2017 Memorandum of Understanding signed by stakeholders on condition of service for tanker drivers and their mates.
They also complained about the non-compliance of transit losses and refusal of the depot operators to abide by the 20 degrees Celsius loading temperature requirement.
These issues still remained unresolved.
In a Facebook comment sighted by energynewsafrica.com, the Energy Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for South Manhyia in the Ashanti Region, wrote: “This morning, I held separate meetings with the executives of the Tanker Drivers’ Union and the Tanker Owners’ Union. The two unions called on me to formally welcome me to the energy sector and to discuss a few issues that are relevant to their operations.
“In both meetings, I emphasised the importance of tanker operations to the petroleum downstream industry, and urged the two to continue working together to find common ground to ensure stable supply of petroleum products. I was happy to receive assurances from the two unions that they will do their best to keep the industry moving,’’ his post read.
“The Energy Ministry will continue to provide the necessary space and support to the petroleum downstream industry to ensure that it continues to play its strategic role in the development of the nation,” the post ended.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
