President inaugurates Academy of Arts and Sciences office

President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated the head office of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and commended the academy for its contributions to national development.

The project, funded by Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), has an auditorium, conference rooms, a library and offices.

“The decision by government to support the academy was born out of an appreciation of the academy’s work and the important role it plays in expanding the frontiers of knowledge and learning and its impact on national development,” President Mahama said at the ceremony last Friday.

The concept

Before the construction of the new office, the academy had for years operated from the premises of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

President Mahama paid tribute to the late President J.E.A Mills who "conceptualised and made the promise to execute the project."

"Everything I did subsequently as President was to honour his memory and the promise that President Mills had made. This building is, therefore, a legacy to the memory of this great man," President Mahama stated.

The project, he said, complemented the image of the Academy as the premier academy of science and arts in sub-Saharan Africa.

Working together

President Mahama added that “the arts and sciences must work together for social cohesion and national transformation" and that failure to marry the two would lead to "under-utilisation and wrong usage" which he noted could have disastrous consequences.

He said members of the academy had provided expertise and skills in various areas of national development.

He stated that the GETFund was also funding the construction of offices for the Association of African Universities as part of the country's commitment to enhance intellectual and scientific development.

President Mahama said his government had been the "midwife" delivering the needed projects that had positioned the country rightfully on the development radar and provided useful examples for the rest of the continent.

President Mahama unveiling the plaque to inaugurate the building. Pictures: EBOW HANSON

Support my successor

He thanked members of the Academy for the support given him during his tenure and urged them to give similar or even better support to his successor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.