Case Studies on the Ghana Multifunctional Platform

Abstract

The Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE) is a Not-for-Profit Organisation registered under the Companies Code of Ghana (1963, Act 179) as a company limited by guarantee. KITE through the UNDP Regional Energy and Poverty Program (REP), Dakar received funding from the Japanese government Human Security Trust Fund (HSTF) to implement the pilot phase of Ghana Multifunctional Platform Program (MFP) in 2005. The Multifunctional Platform (MFP) program is a response toward alleviating rural poverty by reducing the tedious chores of the rural populace through the provision of social services and generation of economic activity in rural communities. An MFP consists of an energy source, provided by an engine mounted on a chassis, which powers a variety of end-use equipment such as grinding mills, de-huskers and battery chargers. The MFP can also be configured to generate electricity for lighting, refrigeration, and water pumping. Between April 2005 and March 2008, KITE reports indicate that the Ghana Program has deployed 40 MFPs in 40 communities in the Northern and Brong Ahafo regions. This report documents the experience of the Abease MFP and the operations of a Gari Producing Women’s Group and adds on to the experiences that KITE and her collaborators have acquired in the establishment and operation of MFPs in Ghana. It is expected that the experiences will inform future operations of the MFP and guide decisions to upscale the establishment of MFPs in Ghana and elsewhere. The Abease experience confirms how important it is to strengthen and use CBOs in rural interventions to improve the livelihood of rural people. Collaboration with CBO’s, local institutions and stakeholders are very vital to the success of the MFPs in Ghana. The experience also highlights the role effective local leadership can play in assisting rural women to fight poverty and ensure improved livelihoods. In terms of achievements of the Platform, the results indicate that the Platform has brought several economic and social benefits to the community, including savings in time and energy required for food processing and food preparation, social cohesion in the community, and some educational benefits including allowing children to spent time in school for teaching and learning. The platform has also introduced business management skills into the community and has put the community on the map of the district, after the Women’s Group was recognised at the 2007 Regional Farmers’ Day. Despite these achievements however, there still remains issues that are critical to the sustainability of the platform and upscaling to other communities. These include the need to carry out more detailed site analysis to ensure compatibility of land uses before Platform establishment, the need to improve collaboration with stakeholders especially with the District Assemblies that are legally responsible for the improvement of rural livelihoods, and the need to explore markets for the IGAs that result from the setting up of the Platforms. Finally, there is the need to constantly monitor the major cost components of the platform, namely fuel, spare parts, operator wages and allowances and overhead costs which have the potential to affect the profitability of the platforms.