President John Mahama has directed the release of a GHC100 million to support the operationalization of the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF) for 2026.
Speaking at the official launch of the Fund in Accra on June 16, President Mahama said the GNRF would help bridge the longstanding gap between research and commercial production, ensuring that innovations developed by researchers are scaled up for national development.
The Ghana National Research Fund was established under the Ghana National Research Fund Act, 2020 (Act 1056) to provide sustainable financing for research, innovation and technology development across sectors including science, technology, agriculture, health, the social sciences and the humanities.
For years, research financing in Ghana has remained fragmented, unpredictable and heavily dependent on external sources. This has limited the scale, continuity and impact of national research efforts. For President Mahama, research demands a lot of investment.
“Now, if you take the expanding GDP of Ghana, our GDP from 2024 was 80 something billion, 88 billion. Now, it’s 114 billion. So take out your calculators and work the maths. 1% of 114 billion will give you a certain figure. And when you get that figure even, just divide it by 2 to get 0.5. It means that we should be investing about GHC6 billion every year in research. That is the target,” the President said.
He announced a package that goes to give the funds steam.
“I’m pleased to announce an immediate catalytic allocation of GHC100 million to support the operational launch of the Ghana National Research Fund for 2026. And so I’m requesting the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the GETfund and the Funds’ Governing Board to ensure the transparent, accountable and resource-oriented deployment of these resources.
The Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, indicated that the government is taking steps to address concerns raised by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAC) over delays in the payment of book and research allowances.
“President Mahama will not give UTAC an opportunity to go on strike. Therefore, your book and research allowance, I have a copy of the letter here signed by the Minister for Finance. What you may not be happy with is whether the exchange rate is the Bawumia rate or the current rate,” he teased.
By Komla Klutse
