Engineers must step up to their pivotal roles in nation building – Roads Minister

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has urged engineers to recognise the pivotal role they play in shaping the nation’s future and must thus be guided by that to uphold the highest professional standards.

He said engineers were not just builders, but they were visionaries and problem-solvers who drove development, transformed society and uplifted generations.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 2025 Engineering Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), he charged the engineers to consider this critical role they played and come up with self-checks that would enhance their roles and ultimately inure to the benefit of national development.

The conference is on the theme: “Urbanisation and Smart Cities: Engineering, the Future of Ghana Cities”.

It is being attended by engineering practitioners in the country, as well as from some African countries and the World Federation of Engineering Organisation.

The week-long conference will hold an AGM and Investiture on Thursday and a closing Banquet and Engineering Excellence Awards on Friday.

Also as part of the conference, there will be field trips by delegates on Saturday.

Vision

Mr Abgodza said President John Dramani Mahama’s vision to build a robust, inclusive and resilient economy driven by strategic infrastructure investments through the Big Push agenda.

He mentioned some of the key pillars that would support the Big Push vision to include: Transforming Transportation Networks for Economic Connectivity; Sustainable Energy Development for a Resilient Future; Water and Sanitation as Fundamental; Digital Transformation and Investing in Social Infrastructure for Human Capital.

All these, he said, were hinged on infrastructure, which would see engineers playing key roles; hence, the need for them to think of smart, innovative solutions to the pressing issues likely to arise.

“Ghana’s future depends on what we do today. As engineers, policymakers and leaders, let us commit to bold, transformative action.

“Let us innovate, collaborate and implement solutions that will define Ghana’s next chapter of growth. 

“This conference provides a platform to explore innovative solutions to our most pressing challenges,” the president’s message concluded.

Concerted effort

The President of the GhIE, Kwabena Bempong, in his opening address, said this year’s theme was chosen to reflect the increasing global urbanisation of countries with their attendant challenges and opportunities.

“This presents us as engineering practitioners with the need to step up our game by taking advantage of the technological advancements to engineer our cities.

“It requires a concerted effort to bring the concepts of urbanisation and Smart cities to the fore with the view to helping shape the future of human settlements and by extension, our cities,” the GhIE President stated.

There were fraternal messages from engineering organisations from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, Kenya and Zambia, as well as representatives of the international engineering organisations attending the conference.