Science, Technology Endowment Fund launched

Accra, June 4, GNA - Science and technology research in the country is to receive a boost, with the establishment of an Endowment Fund, the first of its kind in Ghana's history.

With seed money of 500,000 Ghana cedis made available in the 2007 Budget, the Science and Technology Endowment Fund (STREFund) would provide supplementary funding to support basic and applied research in science and technology.

At the launch of the Fund in Accra on Wednesday, Professor William Ellis, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology said the Fund marked a shift in the country's development agenda to ensure that science and technology was at par with other development initiatives.

He said commitment to science and technology in Africa and Ghana for that matter was very low despite its importance in addressing the economic needs of the continent.

He indicated that most countries had also refused to commit one per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) set in the Lagos Plan of Action for Accelerated Development in Africa in the 1970s. Prof. Ellis stated that Ghana had only achieved between 0.3 and 0.35 per cent of GDP target, representing only a third of the pledge. He said the Science and Technology Policy had also estimated that two per cent of the GDP, which was seven times the current expenditure, should be spent in the sector, if the country could attain the middle income status. The Pro-Vice Chancellor said although the seed money was commendable, there was the need to increase it. "Even if this figure is doubled, then our national research expenditure per person on science and technology will be about four pesewas per annum which is rather too low compared with comparable figures elsewhere."

Prof. Ellis also called for increased investments and a change in the prioritization of science and technology in national development in order to attain economic progress. Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, in a speech read on his behalf said the establishment of the Fund did not mean that government would renege in its provision of resources for researchers. He said the Fund, insulated from government control, had been registered as a private company to enhance research to propel economic growth. The Minister announced a tax incentive package to corporate bodies that contribute to the Fund, which would be deducted by the Internal Revenue Service. He therefore urged all corporate bodies to support the Fund and charged the managers to advertise in such as way that all scientists and institutions who met the criteria could benefit equally. Ms. Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, expressed regret on the low recognition of the importance of science and the limited number of females working in the sector.

Professor Emmanuel Owusu-Bennoah, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, pledged to provide adequate funding to research in the country's crude oil industry. 4 June 08