The Daily Graphic had reported that “top-level sources” at the University had slammed Prof. Yankah for suggesting that government was working to ensure the University of Ghana’s financial challenges borne out of the deal are addressed.

But the Registrar of the University, Mercy Haizel-Ashia, said in a statement that the University has not issued any statement in response to comments by Prof. Yankah, nor have appointed anyone to react on its behalf.

“The University of Ghana has neither issued any comments on the interview granted by the Minister State responsible for Tertiary Education, nor authorized any agents to do so on itself…Management, therefore, dissociates itself from these comments reported to have been made by top officials of the University in response to the Minister of State’s interview. Such untruths are borne out of mischief and the general public is advised to ignore them,” she said.

Read the full statement below:

There is an ensuing controversy over the University of Ghana’s $64 million agreement entered into during the era of its former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey with Africa Integras, which the current Vice Chancellor believes  has left the school in a serious financial situation.

The Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in a recent media interview, indicated that the school might be privatized if it fails to meet its obligations in the $64 million agreement.

However the Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, said government is committed to ensuring that the University of Ghana is not privatized.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We never criticized Prof. Yankah over $64m deal – UG appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the impression created by the Minister of Education Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh over the deal was to “paint him [Ernest Aryeetey] black” and a “deliberate effort to tarnish my image.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”SPqow1XzTF1DoZYYqOxE6uc6NsjiUjOb”]The Education Minister had stated that the University of Ghana risk being privatized if it fails to meet its obligations of the $64 million agreement it entered into with a private company, Africa Integras.

The Minister, who said this in an interview with Peace FM’s Kwame Sefa Kayi indicated that the University under the previous government, entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Africa Integras to invest US$64 million in the construction of 1,000 new students’ hostels for undergraduate and post-graduate students at the Legon campus.

He explained that under the agreement, the University of Ghana is expected to pay a total amount of 10 million dollars to Africa Integras every year for a period of 25 years.

Mr. Prempeh however indicated that the school had in recent times defaulted in the payment – a situation he believes could lead to the school’s assets being seized.

“University of Ghana might be put up for sale because it entered into an agreement and the school is unable to abide by the terms and conditions of the contract. Under this contract, Legon is expected to pay 10 million dollars every year for 25 years. If Legon is unable to settle this loan, its assets will be seized,” said the Minister.

But Prof. Aryeetey in a statement said the Ministers claims are “further from the truth.”

He clarified that the University of Ghana under his leadership did not borrow such an amount.

“The Vice Chancellor of University of Ghana and the Minister of Education of Ghana are trying very hard to make the world believe that I led the University to borrow $64.4 million to build a students hostel. Nothing could be further from the truth. The University of Ghana never borrowed any such money!!!”

Professor Aryeetey said what the Minister failed to understand was that the $64.4 million was borrowed by Africa Integras “to build 5 structures at Legon at a total cost of $64.4 million.”

“Africa Integras borrowed a part of that money from the US government agency, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The rest of the funds came from the private company WP Carey as its equity in the deal. The project was to be undertaken on a ‘Build, Operate and Transfer’ basis.”

“What this meant was that Africa Integras would own the buildings and rent out space in them to Legon. The University was not going to rent simple empty space. The space was going to be fully furnished and equipped for teaching and research purposes. It included modern state of the art and well equipped laboratories for the science units of the university. And all of this was going to be maintained and managed by Africa Integras for 25 years at agreed high standards. This is what the VC and the Minister have deliberately refused to tell the world for reasons best known to them.”

He added that the university undertook a thorough feasibility analysis on the project to ensure that the university was not being shortchanged before it was approved.

He further added that he is convinced that the project was in the best interest of the university.

“l am convinced that the agreement was in the best interest of the University in order to solve its many space and modern technology problems. This is especially so since it provided for discussion and renegotiation at a future date at the request of either party.”

The former Vice Chancellor however accused the current Vice Chancellor of throwing dust in the eyes of the public because he has no interest in the project.

“The agreement provided for various ways in which the University could finance its annual rent payments. Without exploring these financing options, the new University management had concluded that it cannot afford the project. In order to justify the VC’s lack of interest in the project, he has told one lie after the other. Unfortunately people who should be more discerning, have believed him without subjecting the agreement and the processes leading to it, to any proper scrutiny,” he added in the statement.

On claims by the Education Minister that government was not aware of the project, Professor Aryeetey rejected such allegations.

“The Minister also made the point that the Government of Ghana was kept in the dark about the project. This is clearly false and we can easily prove that. I can assure the whole world that nothing illegal, immoral or irregular occurred in the negotiation of this deal. I was never offered any incentive whatsoever by the parties we negotiated with. And I never asked for anything!”

Below is the full statement from Professor Aryeetey:

The Vice Chancellor of University of Ghana and the Minister of Education of Ghana are trying very hard to make the world believe that I led the University to borrow $64.4 million to build a students hostel. Nothing could be further from the truth. The University of Ghana never borrowed any such money!!!

What they have both failed to understand is that the University entered into a concession agreement with Africa Integras, an American company, to build 5 structures at Legon at a total cost of $64.4 million. Africa Integras borrowed a part of that money from the US government agency, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The rest of the funds came from the private company WP Carey as its equity in the deal. The project was to be undertaken on a “Build, Operate and Transfer” basis. What this meant was that Africa Integras would own the buildings and rent out space in them to Legon. The University was not going to rent simple empty space. The space was going to be fully furnished and equipped for teaching and research purposes. It included modern state of the art and well equipped laboratories for the science units of the university. And all of this was going to be maintained and managed by Africa Integras for 25 years at agreed high standards. This is what the VC and the Minister have deliberately refused to tell the world for reasons best known to them.

The University undertook extensive feasibility analysis of the project through its Business School and concluded that using the BOT approach was far better than borrowing directly. The agreement provided for various ways in which the University could finance its annual rent payments. Without exploring these financing options, the new University management had concluded that it cannot afford the project. In order to justify the VC’s lack of interest in the project, he has told one lie after the other. Unfortunately people who should be more discerning, have believed him without subjecting the agreement and the processes leading to it, to any proper scrutiny.

l am convinced that the agreement was in the best interest of the University in order to solve its many space and modern technology problems. This is especially so since it provided for discussion and renegotiation at a future date at the request of either party.

The Minister also made the point that the Government of Ghana was kept in the dark about the project. This is clearly false and we can easily prove that.

I can assure the whole world that nothing illegal, immoral or irregular occurred in the negotiation of this deal. I was never offered any incentive whatsoever by the parties we negotiated with. And I never asked for anything!

I believe that the deliberate effort to tarnish my image is driven by other issues and differences that have nothing to do with this project. Stopping the project, as UG has done, is not only going to deprive Ghanaian students of modern learning facilities, but going to add several millions of dollars to the cost unnecessarily. It is the hope of the Minister of Education and the University Management that when that happens, they can conveniently blame Ernest Aryeetey for it.

I trust fully in the Good Lord to show Ghanaians the truth. I also hope that other persons who know the truth will find the courage to speak out publicly.

Ernest Aryeetey

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Education Minister ‘lying’ to paint me black – Prof. Aryeetey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It, however, maintained that the claims were false and that Prof. Aryeetey “was referring to an agreement that is not known to the University.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”asUPePZJlNlqMnrFu4OvI2nurQGIAHdX”]The University explained in a statement that the “agreement that Professor Aryeetey signed on behalf of the University contains a confidentiality clause that precludes the university from putting its contents into the public domain. The University is thus unable to respond to the false claims of the former Vice-Chancellor.”

In 2015, the University entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Africa Integras to invest $64 million in the construction of 1,000 new students’ hostel beds for undergraduate and post-graduate students on the Legon campus.

Reports by The Chronicle and The Informer Newspapers raised questions about the deal saying it was signed without any due diligence from the Univesity, then under Prof. Aryeetey.

However, Prof. Aryeetey insisted that the processes leading up to the signing of the agreement with Integras were transparent, with all relevant stakeholders involved.

He rubbished the claims made against him and said the current management of the University had failed to continue the said project.

But in a statement, the university expressed disappointment at “misstatements of facts made by Professor Aryeetey in his public statements.”

“The University of Ghana would like to dissociate itself from the contents of any publication contained in some print media concerning Professor Ernest Aryeetey. The University, neither by itself nor through a third party, authorized the publication of any such matters,” the statement added.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We can’t respond to Prof Aryeetey’s ‘false’ claims – UG appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Professor Aryeetey rubbished these claims at a press conference on Wednesday, explaining that the University of Ghana had gone through all the right procedures before signing the agreement with the company.

The University, back in 2015, entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Africa Integras to invest US$64 million in the construction of 1,000 new students’ hostel beds for undergraduate and post-graduate students on the Legon campus.

The project was structured as a 25-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract.

Recent media reports by The Chronicle and The Informer Newspapers, have raised questions about the deal,  particularly relating to the overall cost to the University.

However, Professor Aryeetey insisted the processes leading up to the signing of the agreement with Integras were transparent, with all relevant stakeholders being kept informed of all developments.

“There is no scandal at all in relation to the $64.4 million contract. Africa Integras signed an agreement that they were supposed to spend that money. As far as I know, by the time the project stopped, they had spent about $28 million. How does a phony company come and spend $28 million? You can see the buildings coming up and yet it has been written that I have signed an agreement with a phony company. We haven’t spent any money ourselves, it’s the ‘phony’ company that’s spending the money; how does a phony company put up buildings?,” Professor Aryeetey asked.

He also dismissed assertions that that he had received financial inducements to allow the project to proceed.

“I can assure the public that nothing untoward took place. The processes that were followed were very transparent. It’s being suggested that there was something corrupt, but there’s no such thing. I was never offered any money by any of the persons we dealt with. I have never asked for anything nor have I taken money from anybody in relation to this or any other project. Any suggestions of wrongdoing will be completely misplaced.”

‘1,000 jobs lost, 20,000 students deprived’

The project was expected to be completed in September 2017, and was set to include the construction of an expanded facility for the College of Humanities, a new College of Education, a new dedicated facility for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, and the Institute of Technology and Applied Science, as well as a new facility for the College of Health Sciences, which will be located near the new teaching hospital on campus.

Work on the project has since stalled, which according to Professor Aryeetey, will cost about 1,000 people their jobs and 20,000 students a chance to study at the country’s most prestigious tertiary institution.

“There’s no scandal, if there is one associated with the buildings, then it is coming up in the future. What is scandalous is that, we have stopped the construction for no good reason. There was never a problem with the design of the buildings or the structuring of the facility, and we believe that it was something that was required by the University. Once these buildings are finished, at least 20, 000 more students can use the University of Ghana, not all of them residents. The buildings didn’t come out of nowhere, it came as part of the strategic plan we had for the University of Ghana,” he said.

“By stopping the construction, we are putting a hold to the strategic plan, we are denying many young Ghanaians who would have had a chance to go to the University, and we are making it impossible for good research to be done. It was basically going to revolutionize the way we do teaching.”

No risk of financial loss

Professor Aryeetey added that, despite the concerns that have been raised about the cost that the University would incur over the cause of the period, the institution was well-placed financially to go through with the project.

“These projects are affordable, the University can afford them and does not need the intervention of anybody, not the government or SSNIT. It is expensive like many good projects, but it is certainly within the design to be able to take care of it. The University simply needs to do what had to be done in order to pursue the project,” he said.

“If there is any financial loss associated with this project, it’s something that’s going to be in the future. But it will not be because I designed a bad agreement. It will be because people in leadership positions today failed to live up to their responsibilities and show courage.”
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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