Take science, technology seriously - Prof. Frimpong-Boateng
A renowned Cardio surgeon, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has stated that unless African governments begin to take science and technology seriously, they will continue to lag behind in development.
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He said this at a lecture at the University of Professional Studies which was jointly organised by the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and the Osei-Kusi Foundation in Accra.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said the real difference between the developed countries in America, Europe, Asia and the Far East and the underdeveloped ones in Africa was in their technological capacity.
“This capability has been defined as the extent to which countries access, utilise and create science and technology for the solution of socio-economic problems,” he explained.
Vision of Dr Nkrumah
Professor Boateng said Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, recognised the importance of science and technology in the 1960s. He quoted Osagyefo’s speech on November 25, 1964, in which he said, “science is a way of life, a way of tackling any problem. We must have science clubs in which our people can develop their own talents for discovery and invention.”
Professor Boateng said Dr Nkrumah had laudable ideas to use science and technology to drive the country and that was why as early as 1964, he laid the foundation stone of the Ghana’s Atomic reactor at Kwabenya.
Solid structures
He explained that any country that had taken science and technology seriously would exhibit characteristics that clearly demonstrated the contribution of science and technology in its development.
“To start with, there is a need to build a solid infrastructure for the development of science and technology, apart from well-planned and equally well-equipped institutions, including research centres,” he prescribed.
Imports
Speaking on “Why Ghana and Africa have failed to develop: The role proper policy interventions”, Dr Kofi Amoah, a businessman, noted that even though Ghana had abundant fertile land, “we continue to spend about US$1.5 billion importing maize, tomatoes, vegetables, cashew, shea nuts, sugar and rice instead of growing them ourselves to help grow our economy and create jobs for Ghanaians.”
He said Ghana needed to take agriculture seriously by “maximising agricultural output, putting idle labour to work on idle lands.”
Dr Amoah stressed that there was the need to increase food production for domestic consumption to avoid hunger and malnutrition and also to save the money used in importing food.