A town hall meeting held by the PowerAfrica conference turned into a discussion over whether Africa should model itself after the west or look at new models that meet its particular energy needs.
PowerAfrica is a four-day conference that “offers an international forum on advances in the development and deployment of technologies and business models that are realizing Africa’s energy future,” states the conference website.
The town hall meeting, held before Tuesday night’s opening ceremony, featured a panel of engineers, technicians, and development workers. Audience members asked questions after a formal question- and-answer session moderated by PowerAfrica organizer, Urenna Onywuchi.
Chris Mensah-Bonsu, President and CEO of MB Energy, who spoke on the panel, placed a part of the responsibility on African consumers to become knowledgeable about energy consumption and uses.
After asking the audience to raise their hands if they remembered to turn off their lights and air conditioners before they left home this morning, Mensah-Bonsu estimated that 60% of the medium-sized audience had not.
He insisted that if “Germany was where Africa is,” German people would have figured out what to do with African resources.
But one audience member, Benjamin Uhuna, an electrical engineer, disagreed. Uhuna stated that Africa has a unique set of issues and that simply copying solutions that have worked in other places was not sufficient.
Mensah-Bonsu later stated that, knowledge and critical thinking about each country’s situation is key.
Conference organizer Urenna Onywuchi bemoaned the lack of young Ghanaians in attendance, while taking an audience question on the high price of attending conferences like PowerAfrica.
“The average Ghanaian makes $4500 a year. How can they justify the price of attending a $180 conference?” the audience audience member wanted to know.
“Young people must plan and save and make an investment for their future”, Urenna Onyewuchi said in reply.
Barry Rawn, the conference technical program committee co-chair, stressed the importance of what he called “disruptive solutions,” which are solutions in which a person thinks critically, asks difficult questions, and thinks outside the box to find unique solutions.
When an audience member wanted to know what would happen if Ghanaians invested in solar energy and then used it to an unsustainable degree, Rawn stated, “It takes people like you to answer that question.”
The PowerAfrica Conference will take place at the GIMPA Law Faculty on June 27-June 30th.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
