The President of Corrosion Institute Ghana, a research advocacy group, Patrick Eshun has bemoaned the poor maintenance culture especially how industrial equipment are left at the mercy of the weather to rot.
He said, the crucial role of corrosion prevention or control has often been ignored and is only considered as the last resort when danger looms.
Mr Eshun made the observation at the launch of a Corrosion map for sub-Sahara Africa.
NACE International — an NGO for the corrosion control industry conducted a study which pegs the global cost of corrosion at 2.5 trillion dollars per annum, representing 34% GDP of the world’s industrialised nations.
It is against this backdrop that Corrosion Institute Ghana (CorrIGh), was set up to undertake research to help advocate for policy or standards development and adoption as well as training of Corrosion professionals to fill the knowledge gap.
President of CorrIGh, Patrick Eshun said developing the Corrosion Map for Africa was to highlight and fight against the dangers and cost of corrosion in other jurisdictions.
He said the Map will create general awareness on how corrosive some locations in Ghana are.
President of CorrISA, Gregory Combrink said the youth who are venturing into the corrosion management field must undertake hands-on training instead of focusing on the theoretical aspect of corrosion.
The Dean of the Engineering Faculty at the Accra Technical University, Professor John Akakpovi said the Map will help to improve the selection of appropriate materials for prevention of corrosion in Africa.
He called on institutions to partner Corrosion Institute Ghana to train more people in the corrosion field.
