The members of the Ghana Consulting Engineers Association (GCEA) have held its 7th Annual Conference and AGM in Accra and has elected Ing. Kwabena Bempong as its new president to steer the affairs of the association in the next two years.

The two-day conference, themed “Sustainable Urbanisation in Ghana: Building Resilient Cities for a Better Life,” began on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, and closed with a dinner banquet at the Lancaster Hotel.

At the AGM, members unanimously elected Ing. Kwabena Bempong as the new President of GCEA. He takes over from Ing. Magnus Lincoln Quarshie, who has served the association for the past three years. Other Council members were also elected to run the association in the next two years.

In his welcome address at the conference, the outgoing President of GCEA, Ing. Magnus Lincoln Quarshie said, this year’s theme is both timely and critical as we navigate the complexities of rapid urbanization, climate change and economic development in our cities.

He explained that infrastructure forms the backbone of society, shaping how we live, work and interact. Therefore, building resilient and sustainable infrastructure, whether roads, housing, water systems, public spaces or energy grids, directly impact the quality of life of our citizens.

He added that access to reliable transportation shortens commute times, clean water enhances public health ad sustainable energy drives economic activities.

He noted that without a well-designed and maintained infrastructure system, the aspirations of resilient cities and improved livelihoods remain unattainable.

In his acceptance speech, the new President of GCEA, Ing. Kwabena Bempong assured the association of his unflinching support to drive the GCEA agenda forward as started by his predecessors.

The Guest Speaker for the Conference, Richard Acquah-Harrison, provided a cutting-edge presentation on the theme of the conference to the admiration of all the participants.

Mr. Acquah-Harrison said, integrating land use and transportation planning is the best way to provide accessible and affordable transport systems, undertake traffic management and reduce congestion and stressful driving in the cities.

He opined that, in Ghana, little attention has been given to the important linkage between land use and transportation, stressing that, there is lack of proper understanding of the dynamic relationship between land use and transportation.

Touching on affordable low-income housing, the Guest Speaker informed the participants that a study made on housing policies, strategies and actions in Ghana since Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s era shows that apart from some pilot short-lived projects, the housing mechanisms used so far have had negligible benefits for the poor and low-income groups in terms of affordable home ownership, rental units and access to land.

He emphasised that low-income households, desperate for access to land and affordable rental and rent-to-buy units, have tended to develop or create squatter settlements for themselves, or build on vacant plots belonging to government and other private bodies because they have no free access land.

At the gala dinner held at Lancaster Hotel to climax the conference, awards were presented to consulting engineers who have distinguished themselves and served the association diligently. Among those who received awards were: Ing. Magnus Lincoln Quarshie, the Immediate Past President of GCEA; Ing. W.D. Albert Viala-Past President of GCEA; Ing. Festua Odametey, Vice President of GCEA; Ing. Peter F. Aganu-Honorary Treasurer; Ing. (Mrs.) Nana Akua B. Boateng-Honorary Secretary and Ing. Jean Baptista Nyaku, Future Leaders Rep.

Four Council members were also presented with awards. They were, Ing. Francis K. Yanke,; Ing. William Dickson, Ing. Donald Danquah and Ing. Joseph Omani.