The Ministry of Energy has engaged stakeholders on the Ghana Energy Sector Transformation Initiative Project (GESTIP), which has been going on since 2019. The meeting was to involve the citizenry in shaping and implementing the energy sector reforms, to create a sense of shared responsibility towards sustainable and equitable energy solutions, as well as ensure transparency. It was attended by service providers under the sector including the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO), Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company Limited (NEDCo). Participants were given the chance to ask questions and offer recommendations after officials of the Energy sector presented diverse facets of the project's implementation. GESTIP began in February 2019 with funding from the World Bank, and it is expected to end in December, this year. Mrs Brenda Laryea Adjapawn, the Director, Human Resource Management, Ministry of Energy, who spoke on behalf of Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh , the sector minister, said engaging with stakeholders would foster a sense of shared responsibility towards sustainable and equitable energy solutions. She said GESTIP was a technical assisted project that aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Energy Sector Agencies and institutions, to execute reforms and achieve financial stability. She reiterated the purpose of the project as one that seeks to establish transparent investment planning and regulatory frameworks, increase access to electricity and modern biomass cooking solutions, and effectively utilise domestic gas for electric power generation as well as directly fueling industry energy. Mr James Demitrus, the GESTIP Project Coordinator, during a presentation on the project's achievements, said the project saw many successes and mentioned Ghana as ranking highest in access to energy in sub-Saharan Africa. He said the sector targeted universal access to energy by 2024 despite challenges of payment to independent power producers. Mr Demitrus said the project, since its inception, had contributed to comprehensive energy sector recovery, periodic publications of the PURC and the NEDCo's e-billing. Nanton-Naa Mohammed Bawa, the Paramount Chief of Nanton, who chaired the event on behalf of Ya-Na, called for intensified community sensitisation on the operations of various entities under the energy sector for consumers to better appreciate procedures and comply. He appealed to stakeholders in the sector to help utilise solar power in northern Ghana to enable more communities have access to power, to reduce the cost of transmission to farther areas. Source:Ghana News Agency