Professor Douglas Boateng has called for African nations to shift away from short-term thinking and establish long-term industrial policies driven by engineering expertise.
As the keynote speaker, Professor Douglas Boateng critiqued the existing short electoral cycles as hindering sustainable industrial development across Africa.
The inaugural Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) and Professor Douglas Boateng Annual Lectures highlighted the critical importance of industrialisation and manufacturing for the continent’s economic progress.
“Short-term thinking is what is killing us. Planning cycles should not be four years, they should be seven years,” Prof. Boateng stated emphatically. “When you plan based on your elections, nothing happens. You become a nation of talkers and no action.”
He lauded engineers as long-term thinkers whose work, like building bridges and factories, is oriented toward lasting impact over decades and generations. However, Prof. Boateng lamented that this long-term vision is lacking in current industrial policies shaped by four-year electoral timelines.
“The 2057 vision, can it be achieved? Mindset change is needed…We need to think long-term,” he urged the audience of engineers and policymakers.
Prof. Boateng advocated the creation of a separate ‘Ministry of Industrialisation’ to prioritise domestic production over short-sighted trade policies of importing goods that could be manufactured locally.
“We need to have the Ministry of Trade and Industry refocused so that they can focus more on industrialisation before they trade. What are we trading? We don’t have something to trade with. We need to create it first before we can trade,” he emphasised.
The GhIE president, Ing. Kwabena Bempong, echoed similar sentiments on the pressing need for long-term industrial planning aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) goals.
“If we do not take the opportunity that AfCFTA provides…to produce, then we will have to remain net consumers – leading to huge imbalances in our trade with the world,” Ing. Bempong cautioned.
Both leaders underscored engineering as the backbone and cornerstone for driving this industrial transformation through innovative solutions to optimise resources and overcome challenges.
“Engineering has always been a cornerstone of industrial development. It is through innovative engineering solutions that we can overcome challenges, optimise resources and drive sustainable growth,” stated Bempong.
Prof. Boateng highlighted how short-sighted policies have crippled key industries like poultry farming in Ghana, forcing overreliance on imports despite domestic production potential.
“Look at what has happened to our poultry…Where is it coming from? We’ve killed our own industry. Why? Engineers, if we are supported, we could come up with solutions to support our poultry farmers,” he said.
The speakers emphasised that enacting long-term industrial policies is crucial for fostering an economic renaissance driven by local production and innovation across sectors like manufacturing, construction and technology.
Prof. Boateng gave examples of how locally produced goods could boost industrialisation: “Look at all these buildings. Imagine what would happen if a lot of these were produced locally. And it’s only engineers that can make that a reality.”
He further cited Africa’s resource wealth, saying: “The raw materials are from the continent. That is where engineers will come in…We have a lot of opportunity to solve our own problems”.
Answering questions on the sidelines, Prof. Boateng confirmed that discussions are progressing very well in regard to addressing various parliamentarians at special sittings of their respective parliaments.
The inaugural lectures marked a significant milestone for Ghana’s engineering community to provide vital policy guidance centred on long-term industrial planning as a catalyst for Africa’s economic ascension on the global stage.
