The First Civil Engineer in Ghana – Africa

Honoring a silent giant to Civil Engineering in Ghana.

Mr. Daniel Ofoliquaye Annan started his work as a clerk with Elder Dempster Lines for a short period of time. He quickly moved on to be a surveyor at Railway & Harbours Takoradi that surveyed and demarcated the Achiase Kotoka Railway noted as the Achiase Project.

Mr. D.O. Annan later received a scholarship to study civil Engineering at the Messrs Rendel Palmer and Triton Company in Britain. Mr. D.O. Annan graduated as the First Civil Engineer in Ghana and at the request of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the then President of the Republic of Ghana came back to Ghana to head the Tema Development Corporation known as TDC. He later pursued advanced courses in statistics at the Wayne State University USA and Greece respectively.

He was the head of TDC from 1965 to 1972. In 1972, Colonel I.K. Acheampong became Ghana’s Head of State. His government known as the National Redemption Council decided to build a model of the township at Dansoman a suburb in Accra and Mr. D.O. Annan was tasked to lead the team to execute this phenomenal goal with Colonel George Slater the appointed political head of the state housing corporation.

With the objective 300 houses in 3 months, a well-organized community of houses, roads, markets and all necessary facilities were completed and handed over to Colonel I.K. Acheampong, the then Head of State at a ceremony attended by the vesting Head of states from Benin, commander Mathew Kerekou. Dansoman Estates, remain as one of the largest and organized residential estates in West Africa.

Mr. D.O. Annan resigned, from the State Housing Corporation due to the constant interference with the work of the Corporation by the military after the overthrow of S.M.C. In 1978, unlike his brother and friend Justice D.F. Annan, (November 7, 1928 – July 16, 2006) was a Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana and his distant cousin Kofi Annan. Mr. D.O. Annan decided to move away from politics and took over the headship of NAAT Development (GH) LTD a civil engineering firm which he had initiated in 1970. He remained as the Executive Chairman of the Company until his well-fulfilled life on May 19th, 2008.

D.O. Annan’s life could be described as complex and a huge personality, loved and respected by many. He was generally a responsible and an amazing citizen.

URL links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Dempster_Lines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takoradi_Harbour
https://www.rendel-ltd.com/about-rendel.php
https://wayne.edu/

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