Two more deputy ministerial nominees appear before Committee

Accra, April 3, GNA - Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Deputy Minister-designate for Environment, Science and Technology on Friday said there was the need for government to commit enough funding for research institutions in the country.

He said the institutes had not received the needed attention and researchers had not been given good remuneration over the years. Dr Boamah, who made these observations when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Friday, said he would ensure that more funds were made available for research. He said it was about time government acknowledged the work of research institutions to enable it to play the role assigned it for the development of the nation.

Dr Boamah said since some research did not yield immediate results, government felt reluctant to make available the required resources for such study.

He said "Most of the research funding is geared towards areas, which yields quick results whilst researches into areas like malaria drugs do not get the necessary attention due to the long periods of research."

On food security, Dr. Boamah suggested the introduction of genetic modified food into the system to help farmers boost production for high population in the country. Dr Boamah said not much has not been done to tackle waste management and recycling of plastic waste.

He said he would ensure that the Ministry assisted the relevant agencies to address waste management issues in the country. Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, nominated for Deputy Minister for Information who also appeared before the Committee, assured that the Ministry of Information would not be turned into a propaganda outfit of government.

He said the crux of democracy was information flow and that with the high number of radio and print media in the country there was the need to have a strong Information Ministry to regulate their operations. Mr Ablakwa said there is the need to introduce a Broadcasting Bill to regulate television programmes to avoid the screening of materials that were not acceptable to the public, especially children. "Most of our television stations operate free on air because of commercial benefits and usually put on air programmes, which needs to be regulated."

He said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto indicated the need for upgrading skills of journalists and assured that the necessary arrangements to improve the work of media personnel was put in place. 3 April 09