The Institution of Engineering and Technology, (IET) Ghana has inducted a new president, Engineer Henry Kwadwo Boateng, who takes over the mantle of leadership from Engineer Eric Atta-Sonno.
Engineer Boateng was sworn in as president by a High Court Judge who led him to take both the Oath of Office and Secrecy.
The IET is calling for introspection on the use of foreign building materials as against local ones as it attributes the high cost of building materials to the importation of foreign materials and the lack of the use of local materials to savage the country from economic crisis.
The 35th Annual General Meeting was on the theme ‘Sustainable Development to Reduce the Environmental Footprints of our Time.’
The institution used the occasion to deliberate on the topic and how it can contribute its quota to the growth of Ghana and the world at large.
Speaking to the news team, the immediate-past President of IET, Engineer Atta-Sonno said that e-waste needs to be reduced, reused, and recycled.
He highlighted the environmental hazards that are affecting the quality of lives of people which call for urgent attention as a way to help achieve sustainable development goals.
He charged engineers to find solutions to help improve the quality of life and called on them to consider the impacts of their projects on the environment.
Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in President, Engineer Boateng, disclosed that the Association will explore innovative ways of solving the challenges facing the country using technology by building the capacity of the citizens.
Engineer Boateng revealed that time is now to promote the use of local materials. He said: “We have a lot of materials in Ghana but most of the time we import our materials. This is part of why the cost of buildings and infrastructure is high.
“We can use things like bamboo to do many things that iron rods can do and so we will research into that and promote the use of it. We can also promote the use of clay for ceramics.”
The Executive Secretary of IET, Ghana Engr. Seth Ayim, presenting the annual report, stated that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the institution has made some positive strides in its activities.