A renowned Ghanaian-American chemical engineer and inventor Dr. Thomas Mensah says people around former President John Mahama blocked an opportunity for him to share his vision of development with him, when he was still President of Ghana.

According to him, he had taken a US astronaut with him to meet Mr. Mahama, who was on a visit to the United States, but the handlers of the then President just allowed a 5-minute engagement time with the leader.

Speaking to Bola Ray on Starr Chat Wednesday, Dr. Mensah who developed fibre optics said the situation was significantly different with Nana Akufo-Addo, who was then opposition leader. He noted Akufo-Addo, now president, had a 2-hour conversation with him over his plans for development in the technology world.

“I had a five minutes conversation with Mahama but I had a two-hour conversation with Nana Akufo-Addo. I brought an Astronaut with me to meet Mahama but the people around him didn’t allow it. They didn’t allow me to have a lengthy conversation with him. It was just a handshake and that was it, about five minutes,” he told Bola Ray.

The inventor who has 16 patents to his name said he is committed to developing a silicon Valley in Ghana and has commenced the move with an outfit at the Kofi Annan Centre in Accra.

"I have already started the Silicon Valley in Ghana. I didn’t want the various universities to accuse me of bias so I established it at a neutral grounds, the Kofi Annan Centre. We mean what we are saying and Ghanaians will soon see what we want to do. I want to develop an aircraft maintenance facility in this country. When we have it in Ghana, many airlines will come here and that will boost tourism because tourists will come around in their numbers,” he noted.