The Government of Ghana Increases Funding for R & D – Minister

The government has decided to raise the level of research and development (R & D) funding in science, technology and innovation (STI) to a significant percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. [19659003TheDrIbrahimMohammedAssociateoftheBusinessDevelopmentdeclaredthatthepresidenthaspromisedthataminimumof1%oftheGDPwouldbeallocatedtoR&Dwhichwouldincreasewiththetimetoreach3%oftheGDP

"This will be the main source of funding for National Science, Technology and Innovation, which is established to support the development of the ITS system. of the country, "Dr Awal said Thursday. at the opening of the Annual Regional Meeting (ARM) of the Scientific Granting Councils Initiative (ICMS) in Sub-Saharan Africa and the launch of the Ghana Research Innovation and Commercialization Center (GIRC) ) in Accra.

Dr. Awal explained that the fund would be established as an autonomous body overseen by the Ministry responsible for ITS.

CTISIM seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Scientific Granting Councils (SACs) in Eastern, Southern, Central and Western Africa to support It is jointly funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Canada's International Development Research (IDRC) and South Africa's National Research Center.

SGCI member countries include Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Senegal, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. July 4-6, is jointly organized by the African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS) and the Ministry of the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) on the theme "Research and Innovation for"

The GIRC-Center would be able to provide support services that will anticipate the challenges that researchers and innovators are constantly facing in their attempts to commercialize and help them avoid the pitfalls associated with These challenges

It should also work with leading policy institutions to develop policies, strategies, guidelines and legislation to promote innovation, technology transfer and the commercialization of research results. research.

The Center should function as a quasi-independent entity, Dr Awal said the government had decided to placing STI at the center of the socio-economic development of the nation

"As a nation, we realized that" the poverty gap is the "Technology Gap", we started the process to fill this gap as quickly as possible. "

The Minister stated that MESTI was launching the GIRC Center as a new partner, Dr. Awal said it was the strategic platform that MESTI created to facilitate active and ongoing engagement among stakeholders and to provide guidance and support services that would be helpful to all stakeholders to help researchers and innovators avoid the pitfalls associated with the commercialization process.

He said to ensure that that the country's STI system receives uninterrupted attention from the country's highest office, a Presidential Advisory Council on Science, Technology and Innovation (PASTI), was being created as a as an independent advisory body, with a broad mandate to advise the President on STI issues.

Ms. Levina Owusu, Chief Director of MESTI, said that Ghana and Africa would reach the s objectives In the 2068 agenda of the African Union, as well as in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), STI must be placed at the center of development by supporting Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Executive Director of the African Union. ATPS is pleased that Ghana is the only English-speaking country in SGCI and hopes that Nigeria will soon join the country.

He also urged ECOWAS to use Ghana as a case study to appeal to other member states to join the initiative.

Dr. Roland Kouakou, Head of the Division of Science and Technology, Education, Culture, Science and Technology, ECOWAS Commission, said that the ECOWAS Commission attaches great importance to STI because it plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of the sub-region.

million. Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko, Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, who chaired the office, said the STI had been working in other continents and that it would also work in Africa.

Source: GNA