By Prince Acquah, GNA
Cape Coast, Nov. 14, GNA – Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has made a strong case for a national Design and Technology Manufacturing Centre (DMTC), to transform scientific research and prototypes into market-ready products.
He said it was worrying that many promising inventions in Ghana failed to progress beyond their research and prototype stages because of the absence of a dedicated manufacturing centre and inadequate institutional and financial support.
He proposed that the centre, supported by a venture capital fund, would finance the development of prototypes into finished products, acquisition of specialised tools and manufacturing equipment, product testing and certification, and initial production runs, among other activities.
“Somebody must pay for the prototype, the tooling, the standard setting and the first 100 units otherwise our research will keep ending in journals and read only by people foreigners,” he said.
He made the call at the 3rd Research and Innovation Week and 11th Research Awards and Grants ceremony of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
It was held on the theme: “Funding Research for Sustainable Development: The Role of Universities and Government.”
The twin event, organised by the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC), featured research exhibitions, research awards and grant presentations aimed at promoting research excellence and innovation at the university.
The school recognised researchers under the Research Support Grants and Best Research Award categories and honoured top-performing faculty members for their research contributions in 2024, based on their Scopus publications, citations and research income.
Additionally, UCC awarded grants to support several collaborative and interdepartmental research projects.
In all 82 research proposals were submitted for consideration but 42 were successful for the grants.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng observed that Ghana had not demonstrated sufficient commitment to science and research, particularly in funding, and was, therefore, lagging countries like Korea and China, despite starting its research efforts earlier.
“Korea in 1964 had less than we had and China in 1986 was poorer than we were. Neither of them had our head start. What they had was a decision attached to an instrument sustained past the term of the man who made it,” he said.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng argued that the lack of technology was the major driver of poverty in many developed and underdeveloped countries.
“What separates a developing country from a developed one is not principally its resources, nor its climate nor even its institutions, important as those are. It is the capacity to make things, to maintain them and to design and replace them when the imported ones fail.
“A nation that cannot make its own machines cannot lead an independent life and a nation that cannot lead an independent life will be developed on other people’s terms or not at all,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of research to national development, the renowned surgeon called on the government to expedite efforts to operationalise the National Research Fund, which had remained dormant for more than four years.
He pushed for an amendment of the Ghana National Research Fund Act 2020 (Act 1056) to increase its funding allocation and make contribution by government mandatory, arguing that the amount proposed by the act was meagre.
Specifically, he called for an amendment to Section 3B of the Act, which capped contributions to the Fund at 0.5 per cent of annual revenue, to make the amount a minimum mandatory contribution by the government rather than a ceiling.
He further suggested that the money should be collected at source and paid by the Controller and Accountant General like they did for the GETFund.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng pointed out that the Fund should have received $1.34 billion in 2026, representing 0.5 per cent of the total annual revenue but it received an allocation of only $100 million.
He acknowledged efforts by the government over the past year to operationalise the Fund, noting that it now had a board, an administrator, a functioning secretariat, office facilities, committees, a grant management system, five national missions and a research strategy, among other structures.
However, he warned that the implementation of the research strategy, dubbed Strategy 2030, could fail because it lacked specific milestones, clear targets and timelines.
“A strategy that cannot fail in 2030 cannot succeed in 2030 either because nothing in it is capable of being tested by anybody. A target that has no laws to compel it is a wish,” he said.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng also proposed a 42-day turnaround period for the Fund, enforced by legislation, to ensure that researchers received feedback on their applications within 42 days of submission.
Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto, the Vice-Chancellor of UCC, pledged to increase support for research and innovation to strengthen the school’s contribution to national development.
He said they would explore more ways to motivate researchers, expand access to external research grants through DRIC, and strengthen international partnerships.
Prof. Aheto acknowledged that although the University had consistently improved its research output over the years, its performance had declined in recent times.
He said UCC was committed to renewing its efforts to advance research and other key areas of its operations, adding that rigorous research was essential to addressing societal challenges and improving lives.
Prof. David Teye Doku, the Director of DRIC, said the Directorate had recorded significant improvements in research funding under its leadership, with some funding figures tripling and others doubling.
He said the University had also filed one patent application in the past year, with two others under consideration.
He noted that the UCC’s per capita research output remained unsatisfactory and called on faculty members to strengthen their research activities.
Prof. Doku said research must remain a continuous professional activity among academics, assuring that DRIC would continue to promote best practices and support researchers.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/ Christabel Addo