Ghana’s cabinet has approved the national space policy to provide a framework for the application of space science and technology to ensure sustainable development.
The policy will coordinate how ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) access and use space data to ensure the eradication of inefficiencies in the MDAs.
The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, made the announcement of the approval during a “Meet the Press” series in Accra on Thursday.
According to Dr. Afriyie: “Currently, there is no coordination in the way MDAs access data from entities which provide space data, and we do not even consider value for money.”
He described the approval of the policy as a key milestone in the nation’s development trajectory.
The minister added that the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) was currently collaborating with pertinent ministries and the private sector to transform the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) into a space agency to coordinate the growth of human capital, infrastructure, and space science as part of measures to leverage space technology.
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The Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI), currently has the responsibility to harness, coordinate, research, commercialise and explore space science and technology for the socio-economic development of the country. The GSSTI, which was established in 2012, has been at the forefront of the development of space technology in Ghana.
Despite the government’s decision to halt agency creation due to the associated budgetary load, the minister insisted that the space agency should be treated as an exceptional circumstance.
“I am pleading for exemption for us to establish the space agency because the GSSTI has the needed infrastructure, so there will be zero financial burden on the government.
If we do not do it, the country will rather incur losses,” he said.
The minister added that his organisation has unveiled a 10-year master plan to improve the commercialisation of research and innovation as part of the Ghana-Korea K-Innovation Partnership Programme.
Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI)
Ghana’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation is the ministry responsible for the development of environment and science in the country. It was set up in 1993 initially as the Ministry of Environment and Science (MES) before undergoing several institutional transformations that resulted in its present title and core functions.
This ministry’s goal is to promote market-focused research and development (R&D) for acceptable external conditions, science, technology, and innovation through extensive awareness, conception, collaboration, and teamwork.
The ministry is made up of a number of organisations, such as the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, the National Biosafety Authority, and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority.
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The Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI)
GSSTI is a statutory organization under the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI). GSSTI has the responsibility to harness, coordinate, research, commercialize and explore space science and technology for the socio-economic development of Ghana. The Institute collaborates with local and international partners, including academic institutions, research institutes, and the private sector. It also employs a diversified workforce with a wide range of backgrounds and areas of expertise.
Since its establishment and subsequent official debut in 2012, the Global Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) has created three major Centres with respective focuses on radio astronomy and astrophysics, remote sensing and climate, and satellite communications and engineering, all of which are still developing.