The newly elected President of the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists (GhIG), Dr Anthony Appiah Duah, has called for a legal backing for the Institution to regulate the practice of geoscience and geoscientists in the country.

According to him, the process began with the last two administrations and it is the desire of his administration to vigorously pursue and complete the process in the shortest possible time.

Dr. Duah was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the newly elected Executive Committee of the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists where he averred that GhIG has evolved over the years but in spite of the successes chalked in the past, the Institution still lacks the recognition that it merits in the country.

Most of the state institutions that depend on the services of geoscientists, he stated, do not give the GhIG its due recognition whiles the bulk of the geoscientists themselves also do not see the need to be part of the foremost Geoscience Institution in the country. The narrative he said, must be changed.

He intimated that the GhIG have at various instances engaged governmental bodies on various aspects of the geoscience practice in the country; the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA), the Minerals Commission (Mincom) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), and promised that this relationship will be developed for a more stringent collaboration towards the practice and regulation of the geoscience in Ghana.

He said, whiles the GhIG seeks its own legislation as a Professional Body to regulate the practice of geoscience and geoscientists in Ghana; GhIG is in collaboration with the GGSA to develop common platform to work together on how to operationalize the Act 928. This invariably will not only regulate the practice of geoscience but also help to create many jobs opportunities especially for the new graduates and to protect geoscientists, their respective practices. their professional development and welfare.

“To enhance the visibility of our Institution, the new leadership will improve our periodic seminars and workshops in addition to our annual conferences to constantly engage members to discuss new and emerging trends in the various geoscience industries”, he stressed. These meetings are to be held by both on in-person and at Webinars in order to encourage participation by members outside Accra.

He said: “We will take initiatives to assist these students firstly, with their academic programs and secondly, with mentorship and training programs that will provide them with competence and confidence in their chosen geoscience careers. We will by this means recruit more student members and professional members once they are out of school. In order to achieve the desired success with student membership; we will initiate the discussion on student membership subscription, its growth and sustainability.”

Dr. Duah called on the entire membership and affiliations to continue to make the loudest noise against the destruction of the environment by unprofessional methods of exploitation of our precious minerals by illegal and sometimes legal miners, adding that “Whether we seek for its minerals, oil, gas, water, or rock aggregates, we are united and resolved to extract these natural resources in the most environmentally responsible way towards our developmental goals.

The Outgoing President, Prof. Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu on his part, congratulated Dr.  Anthony Duah and all other elected officers of the Institution.

He also thanked the council members of GhIG for their selfless dedication in steering the affairs of the Institution. He challenged the new administration to take a bold step of developing a five-year strategic plan for the Institution which will see all milestones achieved during the period.

The Chairman for the swearing-in ceremony, Alhaji Idirisu Yakubu who is also a former President of the Institution stressed the need for the institution to stay strong in the discourse of programs and policies that will help harness the natural resources of the country with utmost care and environmental responsiveness.

He intimated that the Institution can count on about seven parliamentary committees through which a collaboration should be sought to work together in furtherance to the judicious management and exploitation of our natural resources without jeopardizing the realization for sound environmental stewardship.

He again admonished the Institution and its membership to stay apolitical and that partisanship should be a back bencher, he stressed.

Alhaji challenged the new executives to start his long-held vision of encouraging sand wining in our river basins rather than destroying our fertile lands for the same resource. Sand winning in the River Basins are renewable and environmentally friendly whilst winning sand from the inland is finite, destructive and at a great cost to the potential of our arable lands

He finally charged the new executives to put in strategies to get the funding of programs of the Institution on a sound footing, he advised that we engage the companies, consultants and affiliates of the Institution to help in the funding of programs and projects.

The new executives should take steps to increase the awareness of the activities of the Institution to the general public and government in particular as partners in development and keep its discourse apolitical because of our wide and varied backgrounds. He wished the new executives well in the new responsibilities as touch bearer s noble Institution.

The other members of the newly elected executives are; Prof. Patrick Asamaoh Sakyi (VP-Academics) Mr. Samuel Torkornoo (VP-Industry), Mr. Crisler Akwei Ankrah (General Secretary), Ms. Yvonne Marfoa Anokwa (Treasure), Dr. Yvonne Sena Loh (PRO) and Mr. Nathaniel Bruno Ansah (Website Officer).