To enhance the operations of utility service providers, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has allocated a $590,000 facility to implement the second phase of the Database Management System (DBMS) of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
This initiative comes on the heels of the successful implementation of phase one launched in June 2021.
The Phase Two of the DBMS will facilitate automated and direct access to relevant data from utility providers to the commission. It aims to record, store, share, analyze, and enable real-time monitoring of water and energy market pricing and service quality, meeting the satisfactory needs of consumers.
Executive Secretary of the PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, highlighted the challenges of the current manual data gathering system, citing issues of data consistency, misinformation, and transparency that affect the commission’s ability to make regulatory decisions.
On the sidelines of the launch, Country Manager for the Ghana Country Office of AfDB, Eyerusalem Fasika, expressed the bank’s commitment to investing in strategic sectors of the economy due to Ghana’s stable political climate.
“The African Development Bank’s engagement in Ghana is based on the country’s strategy we prepare every five years which is also in line with the government’s national development strategy and again our five five Africa priorities which are light up Africa, Feed Africa, integrate Africa, Industrialize Africa and improve the lives of Africans.
“Based on these our current strategy aims to support the industrialization drive of Ghana and private sector development activities and also support the infrastructure development which is enabler to domestic, regional as well as global trade.
“Further our cost cutting areas have to do with digitization which we have done today, Climate aspect, environment, job creation and gender aspect are cost cutting areas that are embedded in our operations. Currently Ghana the bank has about 20 portfolios in project, 15 at the Public sector and 5 at the private sector. The total commitment amounts to 792 million dollars in Ghana. The transport sector is the leading sector of our investment portfolios, an example of our flagship project is the Pokuase Interchange”. Madam Eyerusalem Fasika noted.
Manager of Energy Policy Regulation and Statistics at the AfDB, Callixte Kambanda, shared insights into the project, emphasizing that it will address the challenges of the manual data gathering system upon its completion in eighteen months.”
Under the overall guidance of our strategies, the bank launched in 2018 the electricity desk report which covers the regulatory aspect of the power sector in Africa.
Following the recommendations of this report the priorities the bank has identified together with PURC was the database system DBMS to digitize the activities of the regulator in a very comprehensive manner.
This led to the launch of phase one in June 2021 and following its success, we have agreed to go ahead with the second phase. The second phase will cost 590,000 dollars and will be implemented in the next eighteen months” Mr. Callizte Kambanda observed.
The AfDB revealed that the success of DBMS phase one in Ghana, the first of its kind on the continent, has inspired over five other African countries to adopt the Ghanaian template to transform their energy sectors.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Calvin Powell
