Ghana’s Science and Technology Policy in the offing

A draft of the first ever-National Science and Technology Policy was laid before Parliament on Tuesday. When passed, it will draw the perimeters for uplifting the country to middle income status by the year 2020 through the perpetuation of the culture of science and technology at all levels of the Ghanaian society.

In an introduction, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Cletus Avoka said the draft was prepared to provide the framework which will ensure that science and technology forms the foundation for the country's development as outlined in Vision 2020.

He said the lack of an explicit, legally standing policy of that nature to guide national development has been identified as the single most outstanding obstacle to capitalising on technology for development.

"In addition to the low priority accorded science and technology, the poor performance of various sectors of the economy, especially the manufacturing industry, could be attributed to the lack of this application."

The policy is also intended to raise the level and participation in the funding of science and technology in the country. In the short term, two per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be invested annually in science and technology.

The funding for science and technology, currently estimated at 0.3-0.5 of the country's GDP, is far below the one percent prescribed by the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action.

Government, under the policy, will among other things, encourage the improvement of the quality of Research and Development (R&D) activities, especially within private sector institutions, and promote the participation of women in science and technology. It will also establish mechanisms for the finance, management and evaluation of the performance of science and technology