Former Technical Advisor to the Minister of Energy and now appointed by the President of Ghana Nana Akufo Addo as the Managing Director of Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) Company Limited Dr Edwin Alfred Nii Obodai Provencal has been outdoored as the Chairman of the Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference GITFIC-AfCFTA Tertiary Students Club.
Dr Provencal, whose tenure as Chairman of the Tertiary Students’ Club took effect from February 1, 2024 to February 1, 2025.
The appointment of a club chairman is integral to providing strategic leadership and ensuring effective coordination, fostering collaboration among members and facilitating engagement with external stakeholders.
Dr Provencal in his acceptance speech said GITFIC-AfCFTA club stood as a stronghold of empowerment and collaboration between Africa’s academia, student upliftment and the powers that be within the production, manufacturing and trade sectors of Africa’s economies.
He said the club provided a platform for them to channel their energy, creativity and passion towards advancing AfCFTA objectives and effecting meaningful change in their communities through entrepreneurship, startups and dreaming to become some of Africa’s greatest production and manufacturing success stories.
Dr Provencal said, “By empowering the next generation of leaders with knowledge and skills to navigate regional trade complexities, fresh avenues that would be unlocked for growth and development across Africa.”
‘’Let us remain steadfast in their communities to be principles of inclusivity, transparency and accountability,” he added.
The Dean of Students Affairs at the University of Ghana, Professor Rosina Kyerematen, urged private industries to fund research works to help in policies formulation in the country.
“We should not allow our research work to gather dust, private industries should put money into them to help to have data to feed policies for the nation,” she added.
Furthermore, she said the youth were yearning to research but due to lack of funds they were unable to.
In March 2023, the GITFIC-AfCFTA Tertiary Student Club was officially established at the University of Ghana, setting precedent that has since been replicated at the University for Development Studies (UDS), All Nations University (ANU) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
These clubs having net stringent requirements have been granted permission to operate on their respective campuses under the supervision of senior lecturers serving as patrons.
