By Tilly Barrie
The development agency of United Nations, UNDP, has said in Freetown that less than one percent of the country’s rural population has access to electricity and therefore depends on wood fuel for cooking.
Its head of energy and environment, Saskia Marijnissen, told a validation workshop on “energy efficient production and utilization of charcoal through innovative technologies and private sector Involvement” on Wednesday at the Family Kingdom that “ninety percent of Sierra Leone’s population has very low purchasing power, and depends mainly on wood fuel for cooking”.
She said that had resulted in the high cases of deforestation with adverse consequences on the environment and quality of life, especially for the rural poor.
The implementation of the project was expected to contribute to the reduction of deforestation and to boost the cooking energy sector.
“UNDP supports the ECOWAS Energy Access Investment Programme.Lack of access to energy particularly affects women as they typically carry the burden of collecting firewood or obtaining charcoal for cooking”, she concluded.
Deputy minister of energy and power, Martin Bash-Kamara, said his ministry, with support from UNDP, secured a preparatory grant funding from Global Environment Facility to develop a full project document that would attract private sector investments.
“In 2010 the ministry, through some professional and political help, produced an Energy Policy for the country, which was drafted as a bill and submitted to Parliament to become the National Electricity Act 2011”, he said.
The minister said the energy sector was open to public partnership as was the case with the mining sector. He said for any one tree they fell Sierra Leoneans should plant five meaningful trees. He urged people to use stoves that were designed in such a way to preserve the burning of charcoal.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry of energy, Alhaji Banie Ellah Seisay, said work on preventing deforestation had started several years ago but was revamped when he led a delegation to Guinea Bissau with UNDP to look at “the white power on energy for all”.
“Mitigating mechanisms are needed to preserve what is left of the forest and adopt the policy of reforestation which is done by the ministry of agriculture”, he said, adding that his ministry would give the project its full support.
(C) Politico 28/11/13
