ADOPTION OF THE ECREEE 2014 WORK PROGRAMME AND BUDGET AGENDA

Praia - The eighth Meeting of the Board of the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) convened on Friday, 14th February 2014 at the Boardroom of ECREEE in Praia, Cape Verde to, among others, adopt the ECREEE 2013 Work Plan Implementation Report; and the draft ECREEE Work Programme 2014. The Meeting was attended by eleven ECREEE Board members and chaired by the ECOWAS Commissioner for infrastructure with two GIZ representatives on observer status.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure in his opening address expressed his regret for the delay of the eighth EB meeting which should have been held in 2013. He justified the need for supporting the course of ECREEE by mentioning the various areas of work being pursued by the secretariat. He further commended AECID, ADA, UNIDO and other new partners of ECREEE e.g. GIZ for their continuous support in providing funding and technical assistance. The ED and staff of ECREEE were also commended for the good job being done and noted that, the Centre is still far from the desired destination and called for collective and proactive actions as well as continuous support from the partners to meet the energy access needs of the people of the ECOWAS region.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Finance (CAF) expressed her sincere appreciation to the government and people of Cape Verde for hosting this centre and all the efforts they have put in to keep the ECREEE running. She noted that, at the seventh EB meeting in Vienna, Austria, the board that, staffing structure of ECREEE be formalized. The ECOWAS Commission has sent a team from the Human Resource Department led by the Acting Director, who is currently reviewing the entire ECREEE staffing structure and future job descriptions.

The Minister for Energy, Industry and Tourism of Cape Verde noted in his speech that, the country feels strongly about renewable energy as a solution to the high cost of energy production in Cape Verde. He said Cape Verde aims to champion the quest for renewable energy in the ECOWAS region and called for more support from partners for the region to attain safe, secure and affordable energy access. The Minister proposed increased capacity development on renewable energy in the region. He called on the partners to continue to support ECREEE with funding and technical assistance.

The Board expressed its satisfaction with the 2014 programme of activities and the associated budget and commended the Technical Committee for a good job done in scrutinizing the work programme and the budget.

For additional information on the meeting, please contact the ECREEE Secretariat at [email protected].