Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves & Fuels (GHACCO) held its Annual General Meeting last Friday, May 28, 2021, using virtual technology. Welcoming members to the event, the Chairperson, Ms. Adwoa Etsiwaa Sey noted that the AGM is the yearly convening, during which the National Executive Board updates members on progress and state of affairs of the Alliance. She added that members do take the opportunity to interrogate critical issues, challenges, and successes recorded over the years. The AGM also provides members with the platform to deliberate and consider motions and resolutions properly laid before the General Assembly.
The Chair reported that despite the outbreak and prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic for most of 2020, the Alliance had recorded significant development, in its strive for increased accountability, institutional strengthening, and on the program front. She specifically reported that the outstanding FY2019 external audit was successfully completed by the external auditors of the Alliance, adding that the external audit for FY2020 was equally carried out successfully. The Voice for Change Partnership (V4CP) project which was launched in 2016 in partnership with SNV, as well as the bioenergy advocacy project, which was funded by the BUSAC fund from 2018, were successfully completed, during the last quarter of 2020. She thanked members for their inputs and participation in national advocacy and sensitization initiatives, particularly during the review of the draft biomass cookstove regulation, charcoal transport regulations, and the consultation processes of the national clean cooking strategy development, under the auspices of the Energy Commission. The Chair finally used the opportunity to inform members that the Alliance signed the Cooperation Agreement for the implementation of the Rural Clean Cooking Pilot Project with Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Ltd in November 2020. The project, which has since been completed in March 2021, saw the distribution of 616 units of four improved firewood cookstoves models wholly procured from four members of the Alliance, namely CookClean, SETECH, Nasam Brand Ent. And Envirofit Ghana, in December 2020. She commended these companies and the other individual members who provided their expertise for the successful implementation of the project, in the Ellembelle District.
During the open forum under the theme, “Re-invigorating members’ interests and commitments to grow the clean cooking market in Ghana” members called for the strengthening of the regional steering committees to expand the frontiers for clean cooking sensitization and the development of the value chain. Members further called on the Leadership and Secretariat to improve engagements with members, especially the sub-sector associations, increase service provision to members and value chain actors, as well trust and teamwork among the various structures of the Alliance.
The Alliance resolved to step up efforts and collaboration with relevant government agencies, and development partners to promote a thriving cookstove market as a means of ensuring the attainment of national targets for dissemination and household adoption of clean cooking solutions as well as growing and sustaining livelihoods, investments, and incomes in the clean cooking industry. The Alliance specifically resolved to increase collaboration with the office of the Second Lady, Her Excellency, Hajia Samira Bawumia, who is Global Ambassador for Clean Cooking, as well as the Clean Cooking Desk at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. A new initiative to expand collaboration with research institutions, especially the tertiary institutions, was also considered.
The event was witnessed by the representative from the Office of the Second Lady, H.E Hajia Samira Bawumia, in the person of Kwame Ofori Danso; representative of the Former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, and now Ambassador to the United States, Hajia Alima Mahama, in the person of Hetty Lamptey; Doris Duodo, Snr Officer from the Ministry of Energy; Paula Edze; Country Coordinator for SE4ALL at the Energy Commission and; Alex Kwame Donyinah from the World Bank, Accra Office. The annual event was adjourned after the motion for adjournment was moved by Venan Sondo and seconded by Lovans Owusu-Takyi, which brought the event to a successful closure.