The Ghana Chemical Society (GCS) has held its 20th Annual Conference and General Meeting at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

The two-day conference was themed, "Chemistry Making the World a Better Place."

The event offered chemists in the country the opportunity to deliberate extensively on the problems facing the industry, in particular, and the country at large.

Addressing the conference, a Professor of Chemistry from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Prof. James Darkwa, said the intermittent power outage situation in Ghana could be resolved through the storage of energy in large batteries.

He said the time had come to prioritise Africa's sustainable energy transition and unlock its vast potential. 

Prof. James Darkwa, Professor of Chemistry from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

To achieve that goal, Prof. Darkwa noted that the country was investing in wind, solar, and hydro projects, and had attracted significant international investment in its renewable energy sector.

He added that chemistry had served the country well in the health and allied industries, including food packaging, and polymers among others.

Prof. Dankwa pointed out that the role of chemists must focus on identifying ways to replace existing refinery processes and products with cleaner, safer and more efficient ones.

He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to engage stakeholders in the industry to make it more competent to respond to the needs of the nation.

President of GCS, Prof. David Kofi Essumang

The President of GCS, Prof. David Kofi Essumang, called for the enforcement of laws for every chemical shop or Agro shop to have a professional chemist.

He called on chemists to fight the rising spate of chemicals sold in the country without proper inventory by professional chemists.

Prof.  Essumang, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the Koforidua Technical University, further expressed worry about illegal mining activities, which harmed freshwater resources.

He said the wanton activities of the miners, especially near fresh water sources, had forced the Ghana Water Company to invest more in the purchase of chemicals for water treatment.

Some participants after the conference

He said many students despised the study of chemistry and called on members of the GCS to devise ways to whip students' interest in studying chemistry.

"I can say that chemistry is the easiest subject of all the science subjects. Chemistry uses formulas without assumptions. So, for Chemistry to make the world a better place, we need to have a better chemical education," he added.

The conference was chaired by the Provost of the College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Prof.  Moses Jojo Eghan.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC