The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has committed 700,000 dollars in support of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operations in six assemblies in Ghana.
These are the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Ketu South, Sefwi- Wiawso, and Jomoro municipal assemblies, and the Sagnarigu and Kassena–Nankana West district assemblies.
Mr Stephen Kansuk, the Head of Environment and Climate at UNDP, said the funds would help promote business development, service support, energy and resource efficiency to help businesses to save costs.
“We engaged and audited 15 businesses including, manufacturing MSMEs and hotels across the six assemblies and it showed that businesses employed about 1000 workers, with over 80 per cent youth and about 70 per cent women, he said.
Areas audited included utility consumption (water and electricity), internet and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), equipment being used, building architecture and maintenance culture.
Mr Kansuk said this at a training workshop on Energy Efficiency for journalists in Takoradi, organised by the Energy Commission with support from the UNDP to strengthen their capacity to ensure good corporate governance.
He said the findings on energy consumption showed that almost all facilities had manually operated compound/outside lights kept on for several hours.
Room appliances such as television sets were mostly on standby mode even when not being used, while air condition facilities had low-efficiency ratings, he said.
The study recommended that all fluorescent lambs should be replaced with Light Emitting Diode, photo sensors should be installed to control compound lights, and energy-efficient air conditioners with a minimum of the three-star rated inverter must be used to save energy.
On the use of water, he said most of the facilities used high water-volume water closet systems with high litres cistern capacities.
He recommended an efficient WC system for example, (a six-litre cistern) and as well as a waste segregation system.
Mr John Adjei, Senior Manager, Energy Efficiency Regulation, Energy Commission, said gadgets like transformers, chargers including phone and laptop chargers, desk printers, electric water heaters, water dispensers, television sets, sound systems and decoders were “agents of power thefts.”
He advised participants to turn off unused office equipment including personal computers, and air conditioners, and also close windows and doors tightly when air conditioners were on.
Mr Kennedy Amankwah, who spoke on Energy Management, suggested the appointment of energy managers, who would coordinate the efficient use of energy resources and ensure cost savings.
The Ghana Statistical Service and World Bank COVID-19 Business Tracker revealed many businesses, including MSMEs, were affected by the pandemic.
Source: GNA