The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation,
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng says Ghanaians at all levels must
desist from assisting foreigners to milk the nation of its resources.
He said it was disturbing that for some selfish interests, some
Ghanaians were ready to help other nationals to milk their own nation.
For the little something we receive from foreigners we would help
foreigners to steal our resources, destroy our environment, evade tax
and do all manner of wrongs in our country,” he said.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng was speaking to the media after he delivered an
address at the 4th congregation of the Institute of Development and
Techology Management (IDMT) in Cape Coast on July 27, this year.
The IDMT is accredited by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) and
affiliated to the Kwame Nkrumah Universtiy of Science and Technology and
the University of Cape Coast.
The institute runs post graduate programmes in Development Studies with
speacializations in Higher Education and Development, Leadership and
Development, Law and Development, Peace and Development, Gender and
Development, Project Management, Technology Management, Development
Finance and Community Development.
Twenty-three students were graduated including nine Master of Art students and 14 Master of Philosophy students.
He said it was time to seek the “communal welfare” than selfish individual gains by sacrificing for the next generation.
Speaking earlier at the graduation ceremony on research development,
Prof Frimpong-Boateng stated that the law to ensure one percent of the
nation’s gross domestic product was contributed to research fund for
redistribution to universities and other research institutions to
support research would soon be passed to promote research works.
He further noted that government had significantly stepped up support
for technical and vocational education and training to help develop the
nation’s talents and direct them towards its development agenda.
“We are smart people and can build our own nation. But we cannot do
this; we are constantly dependent on foreign capital technology and
influence,” he said.
He urged the graduands to be disciplined and develop good attitudes and
to apply what they have learnt to better their workplaces and
communities for a better Ghana.
The Rector of the Institute, Prof John Micah, said demand for higher
education had become critical especially for Africa, noting that recent
opportunities for leadership in Africa makes it imperative for Ghana to
pursue the enviable goal of enhancing the capacity to produce new
knowledge and improve policy making, policy refinement and policy
implementation.
He said IDTM offers quality higher education and promotes life-long
learning opportunities, using diverse modes of delivery, creative
content development and critical contextual relevance saying IDTM hoped
to empower its products for quality service and servant leadership.
Creativity and innovation
The President of the Christian Services University Council in Kumasi,
Prof Sam Afrani in an address called for the training and grooming of
graduates capable of generating original and innovative ideas necessary
to drive Ghana’s economy from one of natural resources to an
industry-driven one.