Selected engineers from a number of African countries have expressed gratitude to the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and the Training Centre of the Electricity Company of Ghana for enabling them to undertake a training session in aspects of power distribution systems in Ghana over a seven-week period.
The appreciation was part of a message delivered by a representative of the group at a closing ceremony held on Friday, 22nd November 2024 at the ECG Training Centre in Tema, where the training took place.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Mr. Wisdom Kwame Aglimah from Ghana who also thanked his fellow trainees for creating an enabling environment for all of them to get the needed work done over the period.
He added, “the skills acquired here should not be kept to oneself, but rather, should be shared with colleagues in our various companies so we can be more impactful”.
The trianing is part of deliberate efforts by JICA which aims to support some countries to build sustainable electricity systems to reduce power outages and to provide affordable electricity for all.
To this end, the agency has been supporting the energy sectors in these counties by strengthening electricity transmission and distribution networks, promoting introduction of renewable energy as well as energy efficiency, developing human resources and strengthening human networks in the energy sector.
The Electrical Engineering Training for African Countries is the second session to be held since its inception last year. This year’s edition witnessed trainees from nine African countries, namely Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana (NEDCo), Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda which is an expansion of the first session which had trainees from only the West African zone.
Ms. Suzuki Momoko, Chief Representative for JICA Ghana Office who graced the closing ceremony indicated that “the seven week training program targets technicians in maintenance of electrical equipment and engineers in the distribution, planning, design, system protection and control”, emphasizing that “we believe capacity building of technicians and engineers are indispensable as they are the technicians and the engineers who are maintaining the network
and ensuring that electricity is distributed as planned”. She also admonished the trainees to share and be impactful with the knowledge gained, adding that “I hope that what you have learned here will contribute to your country’s sustainable electricity system”. She further added that she hopes “the training program has also enhanced collaboration among the participating countries and has provided a platform for continuous sharing of experiences”.
The Director of the ECG Training Centre, Ing. Godfred Mensah gave an overview of the subjects the training covered. He also called for continued bilateral partnership between Ghana and Japan and between ECG and JICA.
