Why The Private Sector Would Not Invest In Fruitless Venture: A Comment On Stakeholders Call For Support To Complete The Museum Of Science And Technology.

I was saddened when I read on Graphic online on Wednesday September 11 2013 that “Stakeholders discuss funding of science museum”.All I said to myself was, there they go again trying to find ways of milking Ghana for an over 30 year old project which is still in limbo.

Permit me to proceed with alacrity.


In that piece it was stated that, “the Executive Director of the National Museums and Monuments Board, Dr. Zagba Narh Oyartey, speaking at a forum in Accra called on civil society, NGOs and other stakeholders in science and technology to help develop a coherent approach in ensuring the realisation of the dream.”


I want to find out from Dr. Oyartey the dream he was talking about. The dream that has been shattered by miscommunication or dishonesty?


Sometimes I am forced to question the mental integrity of our leaders who have received formal education.I am brought to that point because of how our leaders seem to be taking us for a ride.


If our leaders do not know then I would remind them that, according to the definition by the International Council of Museums, a museum is typically a permanent institution in the services of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, research, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education, enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment and not a place developed for squatters.

I remember vividly that a year ago the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, Fritz Baffour, stated emphatically that the facility whose construction began forty years ago has been left unattended to due to budgetary constraints.


However speaking to the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board a few months ago, he stated otherwise.According to him the project has been at a standstill due to the change in hands of Directors who have all been in acting position adding that, 70% of works on the project was done an was only left with some fittings to do.

If one would remember, in July 2006 a publication by The Statesman stated that in an interview with Agyiri Sackey, Principal Curator of the MST on the state of affairs at the museum, he disclosed that Government had released ¢2.5bn to be used in the completion of the project.
He added that the idea was to complete the ground floor of the building housing the MST for the staff to move in; the rest of the work would then continue.

Mr Sackey also said the major challenges that faced the MST were lack of human resources, and logistics. He said the few personnel with the MST then were also resigning due to the poor condition of service and a lack of resources to work with.This leads me to my questions.

Do the personnel have better conditions of service and resourced now?Why has the museum not been completed?What was the money used for if it has not been completed?Since I do not want anyone to tell us the money was not enough for the project, I would add a further question.


If the funding was not sufficient then, weren’t estimates made before government released money for its completion?

Today when you visit the project all you will realize is how deteriorating the project keeps on getting with almost all the windows broken.

It is sad that forty years down the lane, the Museum of Science and Technology (MST), which was the brainchild of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, is yet to be completed due to the certain discrepancies.


A huge number of otherwise laudable projects abandoned just like the Museun of Science and Technology (MST).

To borrow the words of Professor George Hagan, a former Chairman of the National Commission on Culture whom I agree with “it is a national disgrace that it has taken 40 years to set up a science museum in Ghana’’.