Ghanaian Lawmakers Disagree on Use of Nuclear Energy
From Ghana Business
Members of the Ghanaian Parliament on Wednesday disagreed on the use of nuclear energy to address the country’s acute power shortage.
While majority were in a favour of nuclear energy, a few dissenting voices recommended the use of the abundant renewable energy resources of the country instead of nuclear power.
The dissenters were of the view that nuclear power was dangerous and that accidents at nuclear power plants could result in the destruction of lives such as what occurred in Chernobyl in Ukraine, then part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1986 and Fukushima in Japan in 2011.
In the Chernobyl disaster, although the Soviet government put the number of deaths at 36, unofficial documents pointed to the fact that more than 5,000 people lost their lives as a result.
The disagreements in Parliament on Wednesday arose as a result of a statement made on the floor of the House by Mr James Agalga (NDC, Builsa North), calling for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the country’s electricity generation mix.
He said with the growing population, Ghana needed more energy and added that research had shown that the country’s hydro power plants, thermal and renewable energy sources would not be enough to address the country’s needs.
