The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng has made a startling revelation about what akpeteshie, the locally-brewed gin, could be used for to produce fuel in large quantities for use by motor vehicles.
According to the medical professor, rather than consume large quantities of akpeteshie and go on to misbehave, Ghanaians should focus on what it could be used for to the benefit of the nation by way of augmenting fue1 supplies.
Explaining how this can be possible Professor Boateng said bio-alcohol could be produced from sugar cane, cassava, sweet potatoes and cocoa sweating that can be distilled and then blended with some amount of petrol for use in vehicles as fuel.
He said that type of fuel is termed E-85 that is 85% akpeteshie and 15% petrol and it is the type of fuel used in the United States of America and Brazil.
The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital CEO was speaking to The Independent newspaper on the on-going energy crisis and the recently announced oil find at Cape Three Points in the Western Region.
Professor Frimpong Boateng said looking at the trend of affairs as far as the Akosombo hydroelectric dam is concerned, he could say without being a prophet of doom that the situation might not improve within the shortest possible time so the best thing for any country to do is to work from a worst case scenario.
This he said calls for the deployment of all energy resources the country could tap to ensure that at least certain strategic agencies such as hospitals, military installations, airports, harbours as well as industries would have power to undertake their operations.
He said every misfortune should not discourage us so much so that we throw our hands up in despair but they should rather make us sit up and come out of such crisis stronger than before.
Prof Boateng regretted that there are people in Ghana who could construct bio-gas systems and there is absolutely no reason why we should dispose of our faecal matters, because that can serve as a fixed raw material to feed the bio-gas systems.
The Central University College (CUC), he disclosed, has shown the way by constructing such bio-gas systems at its new premises on the Tema-Sogakope highway and added that bio-gas can be managed in such a way that it can generate power to feed industries.
“There are Ghanaian industries which can manufacture the bio-gas systems,” he said and added. "The gas generated from that can as well be used for cooking."
He also said, if Ghana could develop capacity to manufacture wind turbines there would not be the need for the Akosombo Hydroelectric plant anymore, because there are high places and shores in this country where such turbines could be located to produce power as is done elsewhere.
The Korle-Bu CEO also advocated for mini-dams to be constructed on small rivers to can provide power to cater for the electricity needs of particular localities to reduce pressure on the Akosombo plant and said it is important that such capacity is developed in the country because that is the reality on the ground as has been portrayed by the current energy crisis.
He said he also supports those who are advocating for both solar and nuclear energy for Ghana since some developing nations are using it so why not Ghana to save it from similar crisis in future.
The energy crisis, he said should challenge us as Ghanaians to come up with solutions that will make us stronger than before. He said, "That is how nations become strong and developed … there should be an uncompromising determination to come out of the situation.”
To Professor Frimpong Boateng, if these suggestions are vigorously pursued they will help in reducing the effect and the impact of the energy crisis.
He said given the nod by the NPP to lead it to the 2008 general elections and subsequently becoming the President of the Republic, these are some of the measures he would put in place to ensure energy sufficiency for the country.
