Activities of the forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA) and IAEA Program for Self Assessment of Regulatory Infractures in Africa

Abstract

Activities of the forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA) and IAEA Program for Self Assessment of Regulatory Infractures in Africa The meeting of the first project coordination (AFRA) was held from the 23rd – 27th of march , 2009 in Pretoria, south Africa. The theme was promoting Self Assessment of Regulatory Infrastructure for safety and Networking of Regulatory Bodies in Africa, various project counterparts from 28 participating IAEA member states in Africa were in attendance. The Meeting was organized by the IAEA in cooperation with the Government of South Africa through the National Nuclear Regulator. The forum was necessary following heightened calls for organized and coherent measures to regulate and control the applications of nuclear technology from a safety and security perspective without impeding on its beneficial applications which also necessitated a review of the status of development of regulatory infrastructures in Africa. In addition to Identifying challenges, opportunities, regional problems and appropriate solutions relevant to the promotion of self assessment methodology and networking of regulatory bodies. The FNRBA as a body aims at building on the current achievements of the IAEA technical cooperation interventions relating to the strengthening of national radiation protection and safety infrastructures. Also, it seeks to instrumentally pursue a wider dissemination and use of the methodological approach on Self Assessment and Self Assessment tools developed by the IAEA for regulatory performance improvement and it also aims to catalyze enhanced regional cooperation amongst peer institutions through the development of a network as an exchange platform which is currently building significant momentum with the establishment of the FNRBA . Furthermore, the FNRBA would be beneficial in the advancement of regional cooperation facilitating information exchange in the African Continent while addressing the present and future challenges in respect of radiation and nuclear safety. In the two day deliberation that followed, the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats were reviewed together with the current situation of nuclear energy on the continent. The first steering group was also elected and inaugurated while thematic working groups (TWG) were instituted. Each of the seven TWG would be led by different member states. Seminar presented by Dr. Y. Idris