Government must ban importation of certain goods – IIE
The Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) at the weekend appealed to Government to ban the importation of certain goods and services into the country.
Reverend Eric O. Ankrah, IIE President, said this would enable the locally manufactured products to have pre-eminence and, thereby, encourage the youth to develop their natural abilities that would eventually enhance the living conditions of our people.
He said Nigeria had banned so many imported goods into the country to enable their locally manufactured products to have the needed attention and create more jobs for the people.
Rev. Ankrah made the appeal in Accra at the Institution’s Annual General Meeting on the theme; “Technical and Vocational Education: Its Importance to National Development,” during which new council members were also elected.
He said technical and vocational education was the purview of the IIE making it a formidable institution that could handle and solve the basic needs of mankind.
He said: “We are the builders and implementers of all developmental infrastructures and, therefore, any nation that neglects these types of people such as engineers, technicians and craftsmen tends to suffer challenges.
“We provide material, plants and machinery to aid supply of food, clothing and shelter. We make the living condition of mankind more comfortable.”
Rev. Ankrah said there was the need for the Government to pay more attention to the development of technical and vocational education, focus on equipping them and making them more vibrant and productive.
He said: “Technical and vocational education is the backbone of every nation’s economic development and we will wish that more financial support is vested into these areas of the economy”.
Dr George Owusu Essegbey, Member of the National Development Planning Commission, said technical and vocational education was important because it produced critical human resource to drive the national socio-economic agenda.
“I will like to emphasise the point that Ghana can only achieve the development goals set in our national development framework and sector-specific policies if we take technical and vocational education more seriously than we are doing now,” he said.
Dr Adams Imoro, member of the Engineering Council, said no country had ever developed without the critical role of science and technology.
Mr Owusu Badu, General Secretary of Christo Asafo Mission, urged members of the engineering fraternity to believe in themselves and make a difference in society.
At the ceremony, 70 engineers, made up of corporate members, members and associate members, were inducted into office.
Source: GNA