Ghana can only transform through engineering – Prof. Frimpong Boateng

Former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, has said Ghana can only be transformed through engineering. 

Additionally, he noted that Ghanaians needed a change of mindset, determination, commitment, ethical behaviour, leadership and truth, to develop the nation.

Prof. Frimpong Boateng said that when he chaired the Annual Ethics & Leadership Lecture series of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), in Accra.

According to Prof. Frimpong Boateng, if Ghanaians ignored engineering, the nation would be doomed.

He, therefore, called on politicians to frequently engage engineering professionals when they won power because no country could develop without engineering and cited Singapore, China, India and other countries that used engineering to rapidly develop their countries to buttress his point.

Transformation

Speaking on the theme: “Re-designing Africa’s Transformation Polygon: A Convergence of Ethics, Engineering, Law & Finance”, the Guest Speaker for the ceremony, the Executive Chairman-AB & David Law Firm, Dr David Ofosu-Dorte, said the Ghanaian economy would be quadruped “if we are ethical in our dealings”.

Dr Ofosu-Dorte added that ethics must guide all professionals working together if the nation was to create a perfect polygon where all sides of the geometrical object interplayed ethically to deliver the transformation.

He said the basis for the theme was centred around the fact that a vast majority of Africa’s population had been calling for transformation of the continent, and that, engineering of all forms, from housing, roads, rail, power and telecommunications, could help integrate the continent and create the framework within which businesses could thrive to create the economic transformation.

“But engineering projects cannot achieve the transformational effect if the right legal framework is not available or if the available framework is not complied with and if finance is not available. In the process of financing such projects, however, the most unethical issues occur cutting across corruption to overlooking standards. Unethical behaviour is also made worse by the failure to enforce appropriate legal regime,” he explained.

Ethics

The President of GhIE, Kwabena Bempong, in his remarks, said the code of ethics for the institution, which is honesty, justice, integrity and responsibility, formed a moral philosophy, which when associated with mutual interest among people constituted the foundation of ethics. He added that as engineering practitioners, they recognised the enormous responsibility placed on them in the development of our country and the world at large.

Any lack of ethical behaviour on their part could have disastrous trust, safety, financial and economic implications on the country and their professional reputation would thus be irredeemably damaged.

In his welcome address, the President-elect of the GhIE, Ludwig A. Hesse, said over the years, the institution had been committed to promoting ethical values and principles within the engineering profession.

He said one of the most impactful ways they had achieved this was through their Annual Ethics Lecture series.

He explained that the GhIE ensured that practitioners in the Engineering industry maintained professional standards, and adhered to regulations, guidelines and codes of ethics of engineering practice by conforming to internationally established technical, environmental and safety standards.

The event was attended by the Vice-President of GhIE, Abena Sophia Tijani; the Executive Director of GhIE, David Kwatia Nyante; Council members of GhIE, past presidents of GhIE, and engineers.