UMaT confers honorary doctorate on Ibrahim Mahama

The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, in the Western Region, has conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree on Mr Ibrahim Mahama, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Engineers and Planners (E&P), at its Special 18th Congregation held on Saturday.

The prestigious award was in recognition of Mr Mahama’s outstanding contributions and achievements across industry, mining and philanthropy in Ghana.

At the ceremony, a total of 55 postgraduate students were also awarded degrees in various fields. Out of the number, 21 received Master’s degrees, while six others were awarded Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.

The Vice-Chancellor of UMaT, Professor Richard Kwasi Amankwah, said Mr Mahama, a distinguished industrialist and visionary entrepreneur, had significantly advanced key sectors of the Ghanaian and West African economy, including mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation and agriculture.

He noted that through pioneering ventures such as Engineers and Planners Company Limited, Dzata Cement and Asutsuare Poultry Farms, Mr Mahama had built thriving indigenous enterprises that had generated thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

Professor Amankwah further stated that the Ibrahim Mahama Foundation had strengthened local content while driving industrial and economic growth across West Africa.

President John Dramani Mahama, elder brother of Ibrahim Mahama, recalled that when their father went into exile, Ibrahim and his siblings were sent to England to continue their education.

He said Ibrahim developed a keen interest in machines at an early age, often dismantling toys “to see what makes them move”.

“And so he had an interest in airplanes, motorcycles, cars, heavy machinery and engineering, and in England, he continued to pursue that interest,” President Mahama said.

According to him, Ibrahim later met an Irish contractor and convinced him to bring bulldozers and excavators to Ghana, which were rented to mining companies as a business venture.

This initiative, he explained, led to the formation of Engineers and Planners at a time when no Ghanaian company was permitted to work directly as a subcontractor to major mining firms.

President Mahama noted that contracts were then dominated by Australian and Canadian expatriate companies, which subcontracted smaller portions of work to local pioneers such as Ibrahim Mahama.

Through hard work and perseverance, he said, Ibrahim built a strong reputation in the mining sector and had become the largest mining subcontractor not only in West Africa, but possibly across Africa.

The Chairman of Council, Dr Goski Alabi, said the event reaffirmed UMaT’s commitment to training, innovation and leadership within Ghana’s extractive industry.

In his remarks, Mr Ibrahim Mahama expressed gratitude to the university and described the honour as deeply humbling.

From Clement Adzei Boye, Tarkwa

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