[Wigsat-l] Ghana gets a [female] science minister after three years

[Sophia Huyer]

 From SciDev.Net

Ghana gets a science minister after three years
Frederick Baffour Opoku and Christina Scott

30 January 2009 | EN

The former government's allocation to research was "woefully inadequate"
K. Burns, USAID
[ACCRA] Ghana has appointed its first science minister in nearly three  
years, pending parliamentary approval, as part of the new government's  
promise to restore the status of science and technology (S&T) in the  
country.

Shirley Ayitey is a biochemist, and a high-ranking member of the  
incoming National Democratic Congress Party.

An overhaul of science was among the campaign promises of Ghana's new  
president, John Evans Atta-Mills, whose party took power on 7 January  
after winning the December elections.

He declared this month (January 22) that he would bring back the  
science ministry scrapped in 2006 by John Kufuor, leader of the  
previous government, the New Patriotic Party.

The 2006 move was part of a cabinet reshuffle which saw Kufuor fire  
the then science minister Christine Churcher, and give responsibility  
for science and technology to the education and sports ministry,  
despite protests from researchers and the broader public.

The reconstituted Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology has  
been urged by scientists to come out with realistic policies and  
''substantial'' funding increases for the country's research  
institutions, rather than rely on the goodwill of donors.

The appeal was made by research scientists at the Science and  
Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI), based at Accra's  
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

STEPRI was created in 1988 to provide research support for S&T policy  
formulation within the science ministry but much of its work is done  
for international development agencies and the UN, due to lack of  
local funds and the dissolution of the ministry.

Emmanuel Tetteh, a research scientist at STEPRI's industry and service  
division, described the former government's allocation of 0.03 per  
cent of Ghana's gross domestic product to research as "woefully  
inadequate".

Tetteh told SciDev.Net that the lack of state funding for research had  
left many vital research proposals lying idle. Experienced scientists  
have taken up corporate and industry jobs in frustration, he said.

"Most research projects are donor funded as a result. This does not  
augur well for our development process," Tetteh says.

But the parliamentary approval process — expected to begin next week —  
could be clouded by Ayitey's role as a trustee in the 31st December  
Women's Movement. Allegations of a loan scandal there were expected to  
go to court this year — but Kufuor blocked the proposed prosecution on  
his last day in office.
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