The Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), as part of its resolve to enhance energy supply for societies, has commenced a fully funded seven-week training for 12 engineers and 12 technicians from Africa. The 24 participants, who were drawn from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia, are being trained at the Electricity Company of Ghana Training Centre located in Tema. Ms. Suzuki Momoko, the Chief Representative at the JICA Ghana Office, reiterated the agency's commitment to ensuring that communities had stable access to affordable, clean energy and resources where they could lead affluent lives. Ms. Momoko said her outfit hoped to achieve these through four main approaches: strengthening the electricity transmission and distribution network, promoting the introduction of renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency, and developing human resources, as well as strengthening human networks in the energy sector. She mentioned some projects JICA had undertaken in West Africa as part of the agency's commitment to the region's energy sector, indicating that they have supported the reinforcement of substations in Accra and the improvement of power distribution systems in Tamale and Sunyani. She added that JICA had been supporting stable power supply for Freetown and its peninsula in Sierra Leone, while in Liberia, the Agency's Technical Cooperation Project for Diesel Generator Maintenance was currently ongoing. Mr. Godfred Mensah, the ECG Director for the Training School, said in a welcome address that the school and JICA had a close partnership since 2010 and collaborated to implement a Technical Assistance Project on Electrical Engineers Training for African Countries from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Mensah said his outfit was set up with the objectives of offering training to build capacity for local and international trainees and to offer up-skilling, special programmes, and on-demand courses. He said that to this end, the school had been accredited by the National Board for Professional and Technician Examination of Ghana, adding that it had also been recognised by the West African Power Pool and JICA as one of their Centres of Excellence used for capacity building of engineers within the West African Sub-Region. Mr. Kwadwo Ayensu Obeng, the Deputy Managing Director in charge of Engineering and Operations for ECG, said that with the assistance of JICA, the centre had been equipped with first-class teaching facilities for both technical and non-technical staff in the energy sector. He tasked participants to take the training seriously and becoming good ambassadors of the ECG Training Centre.

Source: Ghana News Agency