Accra, March 31, GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday pledged the Government's determination to set the pace for Science and Technology development within Sub-Saharan Africa. He said Ghana was well prepared for such a development because it had the capacity to establish a Science and Technology Park to serve as a beacon to develop them for the neighbourhood.

President Kufuor made the pledge when Mr Walter Shirer, Deputy Chief of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Office of the UN Secretary-General paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu. Mr Shirer was leading a delegation of experts for the establishment of a Science and Technology Park for development in Africa.

President Kufuor said developing countries were handicapped in the development of Science and Technology and to enable them to compete with their counterparts in the globalised world there was the need for them to frog-leap. He said " Government was therefore, determined to set the pace for Science and Technology development within Sub-Saharan Africa". President Kufuor said it was in line with such determination that the Government with the assistance of the Indian Government established the Centre of Excellence in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for the West African Sub-Region.

Mr Shirer said the UN Assembly decided to establish the Parks as part of its development projects in Africa and feasibility studies were underway for their establishments in African countries with the exception of South Africa that had its own Park. He said the first Park under the project to be established would become a model for other countries and the visit of the experts to African countries was to access the assets of each country in line with its technology development and based on these submit their report to the UN Assembly before the end of the year, 2004.