The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged the government to demonstrate a high level of transparency with the citizenry on the economic situation of the country to win their trust and confidence.
He said being candid with the people in difficult times would produce outcomes that would be in the best interest of everyone and promote peace and development.
Speaking at the 56th Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) at the Great Hall of the university in Kumasi last Friday, the Asantehene said: “Then the government should be more accommodating and reach out to those who may even be opposed to it politically.”
A total of 776 postgraduate students, including 124 with PhDs, graduated.
The ceremony climaxed the 70th anniversary of the KNUST on the theme: “KNUST: 70 Years of Global Impact – A new Age for a Renewed Focus”.
In attendance was a Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, who represented the sector Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare.
Taking a look at the country’s debt situation, the Asantehene said: “Our debt level as a country has become unsustainable, pushing the government to roll out a domestic debt exchange programme that aims to restructure the nation’s domestic debt and ensure some fiscal space for the country to operate. Sadly, it appears adequate public consultation did not take place until the programme commenced.”
He said the interest of the country was paramount and, therefore, all must work together to prevent the collapse of the economy.
“I urge the government to bring together the best brains with the requisite expertise from all political perspectives to present the finest proposal so that whatever decision the country chooses will be everyone’s responsibility,” he added.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who is also the Chancellor of the KNUST, said the country could not be left out of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which had sent global economies into a state of distress.
Nevertheless, he said, the current economic difficulties should rather serve as a wake-up call for a review of the economy and the implementation of some significant adjustments.
He said the moment had come for the country to reduce wasteful spending and direct resources to economically productive areas in order to improve the quality of life of the citizenry.
At the ceremony, Otumfuo Osei Tutu also launched the ‘KNUST Day of Giving’, an initiative in which the university had set aside every October 6 (starting from this year) to raise money to enable it to invest in a number of developmental initiatives in furtherance of its mandate.
Through an electronic payment platform, the alumni, students, stakeholders, corporate bodies, friends and all well-wishers could give back to the KNUST in any amount and currency.
“This is a very laudable initiative which has my full support and blessings,” the chancellor noted while commending the vice-chancellor for her ingenuity.
Rev. Fordjour said based on a report published in 2020 by the Education Commission, if nothing changed in the educational systems by 2030, nearly 825,000 young people might reach adulthood without the skills needed to thrive in today’s world.
For that reason, he said, the Ministry of Education continued to institute innovative and technologically driven policies in the educational sector to help build the competencies of future leaders to compete favourably in the world of work.
The Vice-Chancellor of the KNUST, Professor Rita Akosua Dickson, together with the Asantehene and the Deputy Education Minister, inaugurated some projects, including the Jericho Wall Police Station, the postgraduate building for the College of Engineering, as well as a three-storey office and classroom block for the college.
In addition, they inspected the almost completed KNUST Teaching Hospital at Boadi and also unveiled a statue of the chancellor at the Unity Hall Roundabout, near the Paa Joe Stadium.
