Ghana Must Never Build A Nuclear Power Plant

The nuclear lobby in Ghana seems to be making considerable headway. It appears that Ghana may seek funding to build a nuclear power plant in the not too distant future. Rusatom, the corrupt state-owned Russian nuclear power plant builder - notorious for its shoddy work -  might probably end up being selected to build Ghana's proposed nuclear power plant, one gathers.

There is no question that choosing to trod on what is a path-of-no-return, in deciding to build a nuclear power plant, is an irreversible decision that must not be taken lightly in a nation like ours - one with a corrupt and byzantine system, and in which the vast majority of ordinary citizens are oblivious of the fact that radioactive waste from nuclear power plants remain dangerous for thousands of years, and must be safely and securely stored, as well as closely guarded round the clock,  till the very end of time.

 Should our mostly-corrupt educated urban elites - not previously known for  religiously ensuring regular maintenance of our nation's infrastructure  and infamous for their lack of foresight and poor planning - have the right to condemn present and future generations of our people to an existence in which they have to face the possibility of  being exposed to the terrifying effects of radiation poisoning from nuclear accidents without consulting them, and seeking their approval, first,  I ask?

It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Perhaps those who make up the nuclear lobby in Ghana are all sincere and altruistic individuals - and genuinely see nuclear power as a perfect solution to our nation's ever-growing energy needs. Let us grant them that - and accept that they act for patriotic reasons only, too.

However, the question they must answer is: What will happen to Ghanaians were an accident on the scale of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster to occur in Ghana  as a result of a major earthquake - if the monstrosity and abomination they seek is eventually built in our country?

 What is our nation's record in dealing with disasters of lesser magnitude  - such as the little local difficulty we have been  grappling with over the years without success: in the shape of our failure to prevent the annual floods we experience and which cause such misery across vast swathes of our country? The plain truth is that we are overwhelmed by the flooding  on each occassion, year in, year out.

And have we also not  failed at the relatively simple task of dealing with the disposal of household and industrial waste efficiently - largely  because local authorities cannot pay (the mostly-not-fit-for-purpose) waste-collection contractors on a regular basis? Alas, as a result of that failure, our towns and cities are now engulfed in filth.

For the information of the nuclear lobby in Ghana, the clean-up at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant,  has reportedly cost the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO),  some US$58 billion thus far - and is projected to cost it anywhere between US$250 and US$500 billion eventually when completed and the plant is finally decommissioned.

Where will that kind of money come from, in this hard-up nation that  is perpetually broke, because it is full of thieving politicians and coniving public officials - who, when oil was discovered, chose to sign agreements that gave away a valuable but depleting natural resource, which ought to benefit Ghana and its people in the same manner that Norway's oil deposits benefit Norwegians (because Norway, not the oil companies,  own those deposits) to foreign oil companies: simply because it benefitted them personally and enabled them send their net worth to stratospheric heights?

Who is to tell whether it is not that selfsame self-interest that is also driving this dangerous idea too? Meanwhile, today, as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, even wealthy and disciplined nations like Germany,  are moving away from relying on nuclear power plants, and focusing instead on renewable energy projects - because of the terrible societal consequences (in public health terms),  and the need to commit to  providing open-ended funding for  clean-up costs, after major accidents at nuclear power plants.

With respect, were he to be alive today, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah - the polymath  whose vision the nuclear lobby keeps referring to in its campaign for the building of a nuclear power plant in Ghana - would have abandoned nuclear energy:  because he cared about the welfare of ordinary people and the well-being of our nation.

He would probably be searching for new ideas in the renewable energy sector if he was in power at this point in time: and would no doubt have opted  to  settle on giant wind-power plants on floating offshore platforms anchored to the seabed, which leverage the proven design metrics of oil rigs, to enable Ghana produce inexpensive renewable energy - from massive wind-power farms he would be  building  off our shores.

 A nation in which corruption is rife, and in which newly-built infrastructure is invariably left to decay, instead of being regularly maintained  - because those paid to ensure that they are well-maintained fail to do so - should never contemplate venturing to build nuclear power plants  under any circumstances.

For the sake of present and future generations of our people, one hopes that common sense will eventually prevail in this matter - and that the proposed madness it represents will never see the light of day. Ghana must never build a nuclear power plant anywhere on its territory. Ever. It will be a ghastly mistake with unbearable consequences that will last for generations to come. Why take such a risk? We must not permit nuclear power plants to be built  in Ghana.  Period. A word to the wise...