Online training of experts from Mozambique and Madagascar completes the deployment of the ITS in eight SADC states
Sofia, 17 May 2021.
Madagascar became the seventh Southern African state to install the Information Tracking System. Madagascar’s participation in the Project is guided by the national nuclear regulator – the Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires (INSTN-Madagascar).
The regular training was carried out remotely from April 23rd through April 29th with 11 participants from five different organizations: Centre de Fusion d’Informations Maritimes (CFIM); INSTN; and the transport operators SOCOTEC; RIO TINTO Qit Madagascar Minerals; and LAGEOTEC. Thus we have prepared experts from other essential sectors to operate the ITS and expanded the reach of the Project.
The training was conducted in French, with the help of two interpreters from our side. The experts from Software Company presented all modules of the system. A live demonstration was again organized as a part of the training process, and all participants took the final evaluation test, with ninety per cent of them scoring 75 per cent or more.
Dr Joseph Lucien Zafimanjato, Director, Radiological Safety and Nuclear Security, INSTN, thanked the European Union, ISTC and Software Company for the valuable assistance and valuable technical support that will increase both the human resources capacity and the technical capability of Madagascar. The joining of two monitoring systems – inland, ITS, and maritime, IORIS, – on the territory of the island will allow the country to play an increasingly important regional role in nuclear safety and security.
The training with 9 participants from Agência Nacional de Energia Atômica (ANEA – Mozambican National Atomic Energy Agency) was carried out remotely from May 10th through May 14th and included theoretical and practical work on all the modules of the platform. After all the material was covered in four days, a real-time demonstration was performed on the last day of the training, including a vehicle with trackers on board going on a predefined route outside of Maputo, simulating an actual shipment. The participants were very proactive both in the discussions and throughout the practical work with the system and completed the online exam successfully with an average score of 88 %. All of them were awarded Certificates of completion. With these last two rounds of training in ITS, the implementation objectives of Project MC 5.01 15B, Support to Southern African States in Nuclear Safety and Safeguards have been reached.
