The Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, Honourable Daniel Botwe has described the effective collaboration between policymakers and academia as crucial to Ghana’s planning and development progression.
He, therefore, called for a practical working relationship that is an anchor among policymakers, academia, and implementers.
This was at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ashanti Region when the Minister called on the Vice Chancellor, Professor Rita Akosua Dickson at her office as part of a three-day official working visit to the Ashanti Region to promote effective coordination between the Ministry, Regional Coordinating Councils, and the Assemblies.
The call on the Vice Chancellor was to have a discussion with the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD), the Department of Planners, and the College of Agriculture at the KNUST to find an effective implementation of the Rural Development Policy.
He suggested that good project research work by students should be considered for effective planning and called for deliberate efforts to be made for the academia and policymakers to pursue policies and programmes that impact all Ghanaians.
VICE CHANCELLOR
Welcoming the Minister and his delegation, Prof. Dickson said that impactful research is not in publication alone, but such research must be made available to people who could best utilize them.
He said KNUST is challenged daily to ensure that “the gown should be carried into the communities, with special attention on the deprived ones”.
She was elated with the Local Government Ministry’s move to come and meet with them, emphasizing that the academia have the expertise to review the 2019-2023 Rural Development Policy together with the Ministry to find solutions to rural development challenges.
She said her institution has signed Memoranda of Understanding with some deprived districts such as Sekyere Afram Plains and Sene West to provide them with technical assistance for the country’s benefit.
She concluded that the quality of humanity served must be seen for the better and that KNUST was ready, willing, dedicated, committed, and armed to find solutions to rural challenges.
SOURCE: PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT (MLGDRD)