Africa-Press – Ghana. A three-day workshop on nuclear energy for regional managers and selected editors of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) has ended with a call on the media to educate the public and clear misconceptions on nuclear energy.
Ambassador Karbal Blay Amihere, the Board Chairman of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), observed that the fears and concerns among the public over nuclear energy could thwart Ghana’s quest for a Nuclear Power Plant and tasked the media to demystify that energy source.
He said public appreciation and acceptance of nuclear technology was critical to the country’s industrialisation agenda and urged journalists to spearhead and facilitate the campaign.
“There will be opposition but there’s the need to inform the public because any change that comes without public education cannot succeed. Let them know the benefits of nuclear power to the Ghana’s energy mix,” he said. Ghana has initiated a process to introduce nuclear power into its energy mix by 2030.
The workshop, organised by Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), was therefore, to build the capacity of the participants in managing stories and news on Nuclear Energy and Ghana’s Nuclear Power Project to engender public acceptance.
It was on the theme: “Nuclear Safety and Environmental Concerns, Strengthening Public Understanding.” Amb. Amihere stressed that there was the need to increase and improve reportage on nuclear science and nuclear energy to enlightened the public for a social licence.
He commended NPG for creating the platform to educate journalists on the subject, adding that the media needed to learn more to perform what it had been tasked to do.
The Board Chairman of the GNA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, applauding NPG, said the workshop was fulfilling. He was, however, quick to add that the media needed to undergo more training to be efficient and effective given the technical nature of the field.
“The media must help demystify nuclear energy but we need to be educated ourselves. So, don’t end the learning process here. Continue to read around the subject and build yourself in the area,” he urged.
Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, the Director of Editorial, GNA, emphasised that Journalism was a learning field and, therefore, journalists must keep learning to abreast themselves of the relevant issues and fields to serve the people.
The Board Chairman of NPG, Professor Benjamin J.B Nyarko, encouraged journalists to write professionally and sensitise the public on Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme.
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