The Vice-President, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia has assured Engineers in the country of his government’s unflinching support and teaming up with them when required in their quest to industrialise Ghana.
The Vice-President gave the assurance in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister in charge of Public Sector Reforms, Mr Joseph Cudjoe at the closing banquet of the 7th edition of Africa Engineering Week and 5th Africa Engineering Conference in Accra last Thursday.
Speaking under the theme of the conference: ‘Engineering, Inter-African Trade and the Sustainable Development Goals”, the Vice President said “in Ghana today, we have adopted the Sustainable Development Goals in all we do. The budgeting cycle is linked to the SDGs. We are currently soliciting inputs to develop our national budget for the period 2022 to 2025”.
He explained that the Continental Free Trade Area, which secretariat Ghana is privileged to host, enhances the role of trade in economic transformation.
He added that Africa had a unique problem of creating jobs overseas through imports while exports also create jobs abroad because the continent was unable to add value to its local raw materials before exporting.
He therefore tasked Engineers in Africa to create an African Brand by harmonising standards in Engineering education, products and services.
This, he said, could be done by working with relevant bodies towards the integration of the continent through better air-links, roads and digital infrastructure.
The President of FAEO, Ing. Mrs Carlien Bou-Chedid, said, Africa would require innovative solutions for its development by creating awareness of intellectual property rights.
She explained that bringing innovation to the market required systemic change in education, patenting and funding.
She said in all these, governments must be prepared to fund research.
The President of the host Engineering institution, the Ghana Institution of Engineering, Ing. Rev. Prof. Charles Anum Adams, welcomed the guests to the banquet and thanked FAEO for choosing Ghana as the host nation for the 7th edition of Africa Engineering Week and 5th Africa Engineering Conference.
The conference was under the chairmanship of Eng. Martin Manuhwa, immediate past President of FAEO, who in his closing remarks told young engineers to aspire to inspire before they expire.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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