Use phones to boost economic development - Dr. Trebi-Ollennu urges youth

The youth have been urged to use the smartphones available in the country for their personal development.

Dr. Trebi-Ollennu Ashitey, the Product Delivery Manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California University of Technology in the United States, who stated this, made reference to developed countries in Europe and Asia who had taken advantage of the technology.

He made this remark on Monday at a lecture to mark 10th Anniversary of the Regent University College of Science and Technology, in Accra.

Themed: “The Benefits of Space Exploration to Emerging Economies”, the event brought participants such as researchers, innovators, lecturers and students.

Dr. Trebi-Ollennu said that space science had brought many economic benefits in the areas of culture, innovation, environment, agriculture, global challenges, among others.

“Space science has been of benefit to countries worldwide through data we have collected across the world”, he stressed.

Dr. Trebi-Ollennu complained about the bureaucratic system in applying the policies covering science and technology education, saying “it should be decentralised to the benefit of rural communities”.

He said it was time Ghanaians translated the knowledge acquired in science and technology into the context of reality to the benefit of all.

In his response, Professor Francis Kofi Ampenyi Allotey, the Mathematical Physicist bemoaned the wrong perception of some Ghanaians about science as being evil; adding that, the lack of curiosity among Africans to know and understand global issues has kept the continent still underdeveloped in terms of science and technology.

He appreciated stakeholders in the Science and Technology sector for their efforts to enhance its study, but encouraged them to implement the policies effectively to enhance growth in many sectors of Ghana’s economy.

“I would like to commend the Government for implementing some of the initiatives introduced into the Science and Technology industry, but there is more to be done”, he stressed.

Ghana, he said was endowed with many natural resources, hence the need to take the sector into a higher level for efficient use of the resources to enhance progress.