Energy Minister receives international award
THE Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has received the Transformational Leadership Award in the energy sector.
The honour was bestowed on him at the 2023 edition of the Africa Public Sector Conference and Awards (APSCA) held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The awards ceremony was on the margins of the Africa Climate Summit, which saw Heads of State, ministers, senior government officials of various African countries and key stakeholders gather to deepen conversations on the global climate change agenda, especially from the African perspective in Kenya.
The award was received on behalf of the minister by a Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh.
In 2022, Dr Opoku Prempeh was named at an Africa Public Sector Conference and Awards held at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra as the Best Minister for the period under review.
It included other awards received by the minister for his remarkable leadership as a public official with the recent one being an honorary Doctorate Degree conferred on him by the University of Cape Coast.
Global climate agenda
Addressing separate gatherings during the summit, Dr Opoku Prempeh reiterated Ghana’s efforts at reducing carbon emissions pursuant to its commitment to the global climate agenda.
He said those efforts were within the broader context of the country’s blueprint towards achieving net zero emissions.
On the role of energy efficiency in Africa for the development of affordable clean energy systems for the future, the minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, highlighted the country’s prioritisation of energy efficiency, which dates back to 2005.
“This was when we launched the appliance standards and labelling regime and passed legislations to back same,” he said.
The minister also said that the lighting retrofit led to savings of 124MW with 6000 CFLS deployed to replace 6000 incandescent lamps.
Gratitude
Dr Opoku Prempeh expressed gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for giving him the opportunity to serve.
“I am truly honoured by this award which I dedicate to the good people of this country. I have always believed that public service is a very noble call, and those of us who are fortunate to find ourselves in that space must give of our utmost best,” he said.
Dr Opoku Prempeh said climate change remained a big topic in a global conversation, stressing that at the Ministry of Energy and its sector agencies, “we are committed to doing more in this regard to make the lives of our people better and more fulfilling”.