The Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said the government will continue to tap into the expertise of indigenous engineers in the quest to industrialise the country.

In line with that, he said, initiatives such as One-District, One-Factory (1D1F) and One-Village, One-Dam (1V1D) required the inputs of engineering practitioners to sustain them to improve livelihoods.

Dr. Bawumia further tasked engineers to create an African brand and identity by harmonising standards in engineering education, products and services.

He said they should also work towards the integration of relevant bodies on the continent through improved air links, roads and digital infrastructure.

This was contained in a speech read on behalf of the Vice-President by the Minister in charge of Public Sector Reforms, Mr. Joseph Cudjoe, at the closing banquet of the seventh edition of the Africa Engineering Week and fifth Africa Engineering Conference in Accra.

It was on the theme: “Engineering, inter-African trade and the sustainable development goals”.

AfCFTA

Dr. Bawumia said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose secretariat Ghana was privileged to host, would enhance trade and the economic transformation of the region.

He, however, said Africa had the unique problem of creating jobs due to the inability of the continent to add value to its raw materials, saying that challenge needed to be addressed.

The Vice-President congratulated Mrs. Carlien Bou-Chedid, the first Ghanaian woman to occupy the position of President of the Federation of African Engineering Organisation (FAEO), on her position and expressed the confidence that she would excel.

Innovative solutions

For her part, Mrs. Bou-Chedid said Africa would require innovative solutions for its development by creating awareness of intellectual property rights.

She, however, said bringing innovation to the market required a systemic change in education, patenting and funding, adding that governments must be prepared to fund research.

Mrs. Bou-Chedid also said young engineers needed guidance, and that the engineers’ forum was an important avenue to groom young talents.
She further called for the expansion of access to digital infrastructure and finance for women in engineering.

The President of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), Rev. Prof. Charles Anum Adams, thanked the FAEO for choosing Ghana as the host nation for the conference.

Fraternal messages

There were fraternal messages from the World Federation of Engineering (WFEO), the West African Federation of Engineering Organisation (WAFEO), the North African Federation of Engineering Organisation (NAFEO), the Eastern African Federation of Engineering (EAFEO), the Central African Federation of Engineering Organisation (CAFEO), the Southern African Federation of Engineering Organisation (SAFEO) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the member country with the highest number of delegates at this year’s conference.