The Role of Communication in Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 - The Case of Ghana’s Energy Sector
Date
2018-07
Authors
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Publisher
University of Ghana
Abstract
For emergent economies such as Ghana and much of Africa, development has become not just a
central foundation but also the realpolitik of democratic governance; to the extent that scholars
have described development as a ‘civil religion’ and a ‘battle cry’ of nations.
In the context of the global development trajectory, energy plays a pivotal role because of its
ability to affect other sectors of human and economic progress; as illustrated by its
acknowledgement in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. Communication has been
demonstrated to play an integral part in the process and pursuit of development generally. What
is empirically unclear is the extent to which actors within the energy sector appreciate and apply
communication towards achieving the vision of energy for sustainable development. Using a
combination of qualitative methods ‒document analysis, interviews and observations‒, this
research sought to explore the ways in which communication is used by major institutional actors
in Ghana’s energy sector to achieve the SDG on energy.
The findings suggest that Communication departments in Ghana’s energy sector agencies play
both managerial and technician roles although there is more concentration on the technician role.
Some managerial roles identified were advising and reputation management. Some technician
roles identified were public information and education, issuing strategic press releases, organizing
summits and conferences, research, monitoring and evaluation. Nature of communicating SDG
7 initiatives was mainly instrumental although agencies in the sector were making strides to
incorporate participatory forms by engaging in door- to-door campaigns where direct feedback
and support of the public can be obtained and sustained. The Ministry of Energy was taking steps
to address coordination challenges by having inter-sectorial and inter-ministerial deliberations on
various SDG 7 related initiatives.
Description
MPhil.
Keywords
Communication, Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, Energy Sector