Source: newsthemegh.com
At their just concluded 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in Takoradi in the Western Region, the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) hosted an investiture ceremony for Kwabena Bempong, the new president, on Thursday.
The five-day event had “Resilient engineering for national development” as its topic.
The conference’s immediate past president, Prof. Rev. Charles A. Adams, presented Mr. Bempong with the chain of office at the banquet that served as the conference’s finale. Subsequently, the new GhIE President took the oath of office under the direction of Justice Sedina Agbememava, the Supervising High Court Judge.
In outlining his goals, Mr. Bempong, Chief Executive Officer of Associated Consultants, stated that Ghanaian engineers should take note of the recent devastation brought on by earthquakes in Turkey with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale.
How many Accra buildings would withstand a mild earthquake of 5.5, let alone anything between strong and major, which is 6.1 to 6.9 or 7 to 7.9?
He noted that southern Ghana has a history of earthquakes and that the first earthquake to be recorded in Ghana occurred in June 1939 with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale, causing 17 fatalities and 133 injuries.
Do our infrastructure systems have resilience built into them, Mr. Bempong continued? How would we fare in the event of a natural disaster, particularly in Accra, an earthquake? Are we following guidelines and requirements?
As professionals, engineers, Mr. Bempong stated, “we must think, act, and help form national discussion on crucial issues staring us in the face,” adding “we must rise and protect the people instead of being spectators.”
He explained to the audience that while GhIE had previously criticized and written about some of Ghana’s engineering difficulties, “the time to act is now – delivering solutions to the various problems facing us.”
The president of the GhIE prayed that the team would be prepared to engineer the nation’s prosperity.