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The Minister for the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, has stressed the need for science, technology and innovation to assume a central position in the rapid socio-economic transformation of the country. This, the Minister said, would enhance productivity in all sectors of the economy and ensure sustainable environmental and human development. Dr Oteng-Adjei was speaking when he took his turn at the Meet-the-Press series in Accra, yesterday, to present the programmes, activities, achievements and challenges of the Ministry since 2013. He said the Ministry, together with its four agencies, namely; the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) had achieved a lot in the past year. Dr Oteng-Adjei disclosed that the Ministry, through consultations with stakeholders, had drafted a National Policy on Climate Change to serve as a comprehensive action plan to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on the environment. In addition, he said, a Strategic Master Plan for the implementation of the policy and to provide an opportunity for Ghanaians to benefit from the Global Climate Fund was also at its final stage of preparation. He disclosed that the Ministry had also developed a National Environment Policy to provide strategic directions to Ghanaians towards the attainment of a clean and healthy society. He said the Ministry, together with the Ministry of Finance, and with support from the Government of Norway, had also developed a program to ensure that energy was produced and utilized in an environmentally-sound manner to ensure the sustainability of the environment. Dr Oteng-Adjei said waste management had been a major challenge to the Ministry and that Ghanaians should take up the responsibilities to curb the problem. On the topic of Science and Technology, he disclosed that, his Ministry was co-operating with its South African counterpart to develop the national capacity for science, particularly in the area of astronomy. He said the Ministry had also launched the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Fund to provide funding to support science, technology, and innovation initiatives as well as promote scientific research and development geared towards addressing social needs in some specific areas such as agriculture. In spite of these achievements, Dr Oteng-Adjei said, the Ministry as an institution had been faced with major challenges such as limited staff strength and logistics, inadequate funding, and poor public attitudes towards the environment. On the way forward, the Minister said the Ministry would conduct more sensitization and public awareness campaigns to educate the public on issues relating to the environment and technology. Dr Oteng-Adjei reminded Ghanaians on the need to be involved in the sustainability of the environment, noting that it was the responsibility of both the state and individual citizens to protect the environment.