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The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Mahama Ayariga, has said that the government of Ghana attached much importance to science, technology and innovation in its bid to achieve accelerated growth and national development.

In view of that, he noted that the ministry had framed the National Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) Policy with a clear vision to integrate ST&I into national development plans to harness the nation’s science and technology capacity.

That, he stressed, would go a long way to enable Ghana to achieve its national objectives of reducing poverty, and ensuring sustainable environmental management and industrial growth.
“Over the years, Ghana has achieved a lot in terms of establishing science and technology infrastructure and building the scientific capacity of its institutions,” Mr Ayariga added. 

The minister was speaking at the inaugural session of the third Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) conference in Accra.

Assistance from other countries
Ghana as a state, according to Mr Ayariga, required the support of other developing and developed countries in its strides for growth and development in spite of the fact that it was endowed with a lot of natural resources.

“The government of Ghana is focused on its agenda for transformation which calls for adopting new and innovative ways of doing things, drawing on the power of science and technology to diagnose and solve problems,” he indicated.

He also added that international programmes such as COMSATS, provided the country with greater opportunities to learn and reflect, especially in terms of inculcating science and technology in the national agenda.

The Executive Director of COMSATS, Dr Imtinan Elahi Qureshi, called on leaders and COMSATS member states to do their best towards the expansion of science and technology in their respective countries.

About COMSATS
The COMSATS was established in 1994 as an inter-governmental organisation based in Islamabad.

It is currently chaired by President John Dramani Mahama. The commission has 23-member countries on three continents; Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The commission aims at fostering the sustainable development of member countries through the use of science and technology and serves as a platform to mutually identify common development problems and in turn, devise appropriate technical solutions.

In a speech read on his behalf, President Mahama added his voice to the call on African leaders to dedicate a great deal of resources to the improvement of science and technology on the continent.

He said it was the responsibility of African leaders to ensure that the necessary frameworks were created for science and technology to flourish.