His comment comes on the back of indications by the University of Ghana that workers’ salaries for March 2018 will be delayed due to government’s failure to release subventions.

[contextly_sidebar id=”QJxwtZPEKfApMZCqXKBzbw2XxFVokir7″]A memo sighted by Citi News from the University Registry, also revealed that the University had been borrowing money for the past two months to pay salaries.

The memo, which was signed by the Registrar of the University of Ghana, Legon, Mercy Haizel-Ashia, gave no timeline as to when payment will eventually be made.

No delays under NDC

Drawing a comparison between the previous and current government, Mr. Adams indicated that there were no delays in the payment of subventions under the NDC government.

“In the entire eight years that we were in government, from 7^th January 2009 to 6^th January 2017, there was not a period that a University reported that it could not pay its workers. In less than 2 years of a government that describes itself as so competent, we are having reports of workers not getting their salaries.”

Mr. Kofi Adams, who was speaking during the swearing in of new executives of the Koforidua Technical University chapter of TEIN, called on government to address the problem.

Mr. Adams believes government’s restrictions on the institution’s Internally Generated Funds, is partly to blame for the current situation.

He pointed out that government has for sometime now been “taking back a lot of monies which will otherwise have been available to the University to be able to cater for some of these challenges when they do arise.”

“For government, since the beginning of 2018 not to have made use of their promise of subventions is uncalled for. They have failed to fulfill their part of their bargain, which is the usual subvention is worrying. They have used the money for other things so they cannot find the money,”he added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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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’ hostel beds for undergraduate and post-graduate students at the Legon campus.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ojLoSOWDNBQwesDvORSTVPGTBTcf3RDX”]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.

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

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.

The Minister also clarified that the agreement was not signed under the current government, adding that the school failed to hold consultations with the government at the time before sealing the deal.

“They went for a $64 million loan for the construction of some hostel beds for undergraduate and post graduate students and they failed to inform government about this loan. They did not tell government anything” he claimed.

UTAG defends UG’s move

Also speaking on Point Blank, the Local President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Henry Agbanu, disagreed with the Minister’s position, explaining that once the school was not receiving financial support from government, it had no option than resort to loan agreements from external sources.

“We know that because of the infrastructure challenges facing the University, and the University has been struggling to find ways to solve problem. Remember that the University is a public institution which should be funded by government but over the years government funding to the universities have dwindled.”

“So far, all that government does is to pay emoluments of workers. No capital investment; no administrative cost, nothing; and so universities are left to struggle and cope with the problems they have. At a point at the University of Ghana, there were about six, seven students in a room and it was an eyesore when you came to the campus and you went to the students’ room, you will never want your child to be educated in such an environment so the University in its wisdom thought it will be necessary to build hostels for students to occupy.”

Mr. Agbanu further indicated that the school is holding talks with key stakeholders to find viable means of meeting requirements for the agreement. He therefore slammed the Education Minister, saying it was inappropriate for him to take up a matter that is being discussed behind closed-doors to the media.

In his view, the Minister appears to be interested in scoring political points with a rather sensitive issue.

Prof. Aryeetey denies fraud claims in $64m UG deal

In 2017, this same agreement came up for discussion after the former Vice Chancellor of UG, Prof Aryeetey, was accused of failing to do due diligence when the deal was signed under his tenure.

He however rubbished these claims, explaining that UG had gone through all the right procedures before signing the agreement with the company.

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.”

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

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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About 15 National Security operatives invaded the premises to carry out orders given by the Health Minister in a letter sighted by Citi News.

Speaking to Citi News shortly after the National Security officials had retreated, the interim CEO of the Medical Center, Prof. Aaron Lawson described the move as shocking.

“They [National Security] were being brought in as a step to taking over the entire facility by the [Ministry of Health] so I informed the VC about it and sent him a copy of the letter that was written to me. The VC called the Ministers of Health and Education and informed them about it so we thought the matter had been settled only for National Security to contact the project quantity surveyor again that he was at the site. He said that he did not take instructions from any other person apart from the Vice Chancellor so I informed the Vice Chancellor about it and he agreed that we should come here to meet with them. We just met with them and they have withdrawn their men from the site.”

$217m UG Medical Centre wasting away over management tussle

The first phase of the University of Ghana Medical Centre which was completed in November 2016, is yet to be operational following disagreements over the legitimate manager of the facility.

In 2012, government signed a contract with Messrs. Engineering and Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the facility and hand it over to the university. The university designated 400 acres of land for the entire project.

Sources closely involved with the project had revealed to Citi News that, after this contract was agreed, another deal was signed between the Ministry of Health and the University of Ghana in 2015, which gave ownership of the $217 million facility to the university.

Following this agreement, the university established a company, the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC) Limited to serve as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will oversee the operations of the facility.

The institution also went ahead to obtain approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Commission to recruit staff for the running of the facility.

The Ministry of Health in recent times, is however laying claims to the facility, leading to uncertainties over who has the responsibility to manage the centre.

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By: Marian Ansah & Caleb Kudah/citifmonlione.com/Ghana

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Head of the Political Science Department, Dr. Bossman Asare, who made this revelation while presenting the survey findings, said : “We wanted to find out who the voters think should lead the party [NDC] in 2020, and overwhelmingly 58% of the candidates we interviewed said they believed Mr. Mahama will become the candidate and a number of them generally said they wanted Mr. Mahama to come.

“It means when you look at the graph, some people were getting 2 percent. Prof Alabi, Ricketts Hagan, Spio Grabrah, I think all of them were getting less than 7% so we were all surprised.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”uiYoj4vhCvGqbKCvRbJg1zRQ7z9iaeGb”]Several members of the NDC including, Nadowli-Kaleo MP, Alban Bagbin, Dr. Spio-Garbrah, former NHIA boss, Sylvester Mensah, Joshua Alabi, former MP for La-Dadekotopon, Nii Amasah Namoale among others, have given indications they may contest the flagbearership position.

Dr. Bossman Asare mentioned that, these other aspirants, particularly Spio Garbrah, Ricketts Hagan and Prof. Alabi had less than 7% in the survey.

The former President, John Dramani Mahama, is yet to make a definite decision on his future, although he has given hints suggesting that he may contest.

The survey, which was conducted by the Department focused on democratic governance.

62% of Ghanaians ‘happy’ with NPP’s performance – UG Report

The Political Science Department of the University of Ghana also said the Akufo Addo government’s approval rating in its first year, stands at 62%.

In the research conducted by the Department which focused on democratic governance, 49% of the 5000 voters sampled, endorsed the Free Senior High School [SHS] programme, making it one of popular initiatives of the government.

It was followed by government’s fight against illegal mining, which stood at 37%.

On the Office of the Special Prosecutors Bill, 64% of Ghanaians backed government’s decision.

On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr. Asare noted that “Although the NHIS for example is not so perfect, we heard the voters making it very clear that they thought that it has seen some revival.”

This rating comes days after the Industrial Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) scored Nana Addo’s government 80% in its assessment, but emphasized the need for government to speed up processes to get the Special Prosecutor Office running effectively.

11 controversies that rocked NPP gov’t in 2017

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government officially marked the first year of its administration on 7th January, 2017, after wresting power from the then NDC government led by John Dramani Mahama.

The party claimed electoral victory on the back of many campaign promises aimed at boosting social infrastructure and providing a convenient economic environment for private businesses to thrive.

Despite the 62% acceptance rating, the government has had its share of controversies, with several of them being alleged corruption scandals.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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This will be the third appearance of University of Ghana, and the only University from Ghana to participate in that context.

The first was in Malaysia 2015, where the school ranked 269. Subsequently at The Hague in the Netherlands in 2017, the school ranked 214.

The World Universities Debating Championship also called ‘Worlds’ or WUDC, is an annual competition among debate societies of all universities in the world.

[contextly_sidebar id=”o876HKT220e7Y8dTrxKreiigMj3XPWgR”]It is designed to determine the best of the best in international English language debating. The WUDC has been held annually since 1981.

Every year, the WUDC takes place in a different country, and is hosted by a different university and by different debate societies.

The tournament gathers students from prestigious universities around the globe, featuring over 400 teams from around 90 countries.

Format

The tournament lasts for a week, and it is filled with the best level of debate rounds in the world. The debates employ the British Parliamentary (BP) format in which four teams compete against each other on two opposite positions on a given motion, which is announced fifteen minutes before every debate.

The competition is run in nine rounds under a Swiss-system where teams of a similar level face off against each other, until the best forty-eight break to the direct elimination rounds.

The best English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) teams enter their own elimination rounds.

Preparation

Under the tutelage of veteran Coach and arguably one of the finest Debaters to grace University Debate on the African Continent, Mr. Antonio Edem Asinyo, is putting the Team in the best of shapes.  The Team started training about a month and a half ago, and looks poised to improve UG’s ranking of 214 at The Hague.

Mr. Asinyo opined that, their work is cut out for them, and the onus lies on them to continue the impressive work done in the previous two editions.

“It is important to note that, our performance at the world’s stage has been progressive, and as the Coach, it is my primary responsibility to improve the standard of UG with respect to Debate, and that I am committed to.”

He expressed his appreciation to the University through the Sports Directorate for their immense support.

Team Optimistic of making Partial Octofinals

Miss Paye Sandra Adoma, a level 300 Philosophy and Information Studies student, and Jeremiah Kobby Sekyi, also in level 200 reading Pharmacy, representing the University, shared the feeling of competing at this level, and the optimism of a better performance.

“Participation in the WUDC is the height of experience and challenge for a Debater. Knowing this, we have been training quite vigorously for the tournament. We believe strongly that our preparations will earn us a place in the Partial Octofinals, which would be the highest any team in Ghana has reached.”

The team will be led by Michael Owusu Ansah, a Principal Accountant at the Finance Directorate of the University.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He has since advised the general public not to associate the incident with current students of the school.

[contextly_sidebar id=”H7pbFvgvorJtRde0fubBmRSRdB0exUSJ”]Speaking an interview with Citi News’ Caleb Kudah on Monday, Prof. Oduro Owusu expressed his condolence to the family of the late Martin Tweneboah Kodua, who was stabbed to death at Commonwealth Hall on Saturday evening.

“It is unfortunate. We extend our condolences to the bereaved family. We are assisting the police to investigate the matter. We’ve also assured the community that lives of the students and lives of the people on campus are not in danger or in any way affected by the incident,” he said.

Challenging claims that the incident occurred due to lax security on campus, the Vice-Chancellor said: “this has absolutely nothing to do with security on campus…we have ensured that there is maximum security.”

He added that “This has nothing to do with students, they are not students. The hall management is trying to look at it. They are meeting and they are also doing their own investigations but no one should try and drag our students into this.”

Status of suspect

Many have claimed that the suspect is an old student of the University of Ghana and affiliated to Commonwealth Hall, thus the Old Vandals, hence his presence and active participation in almost all events of the Hall.

However, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana says information available to him indicates that the suspect was never a student of the University.

When Citi News’ Caleb Kudah pointed out that suspicions were that the suspect was never a student of the school, the Vice-Chancellor said, “That is the information we have and it is absolutely true.”

Background

The suspect is reported to have stabbed an Old Vandal, Martin Tweneboah Koduah, alias Chief Tipsy multiple times on Saturday night, at the charging grounds of Commonwealth Hall at the University of Ghana.

The incident occurred after a heated argument between the two while they traveled back to campus from a funeral of an Old Vandal.

According to the Old Vandals Association, the two were separated on several occasions during their heated arguments on the bus.

“The argument became heated and the two had to be separated on several occasions by others. It went on and on. So, when we got to Atomic Junction, the driver was advised to stop and the two were thrown out of the bus. Others joined them.”

“When they got to the Hall, they had not stopped. It was at this time that the killer allegedly grabbed the knife of the khebab seller and cut the victim several times with it. The victim bled profusely and was rushed to the Legon Hospital by the killer and some Vandals… the doctors could not save his life. He was pronounced dead around 1900 hours GMT,” the Old Vandals’ statement said.

Meanwhile, the management of the University of Ghana has called for calm among parents and the general public following the incident, noting that “no threat has been identified which could cause any danger to our students in this respect.”

It further said the Careers and Counseling Centre of the school is on standby to counsel any student who may have been traumatized by the incident.

The Police have said they will immediately process the suspect for court when investigations are concluded.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Old Vandal ‘killer’ has never been our student – Legon VC appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This was announced by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu, at the school’s 2017 November congregation on Saturday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LpDwvCD1lUozsUx8F2HBLGvi0OBUeEiP”]He said the turbine, which will be sited at the Legon campus will be a pilot demonstration of the school.

While indicating that the University was being challenged by double billing by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), he said “the Independent Power Supply Team is also helping the University to address the issue of double billing by ECG to reduce the energy bill at the University.

“The University is also collaborating with the Bui Power Authority with the view to installing a 600kW capacity pilot demonstration wind turbine at Legon Campus.”

The move comes at a time when the government has proposed a reduction in the cost of electricity in response to complaints from consumers over high cost.

The ECG has also recently intensified efforts to reduce its losses by clamping down on persons tapping power illegally as well as institutions indebted to it.

University of Ghana commercial activities

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu in his address, noted that the University has engaged with some investors who have expressed interest in investing in the school’s commercial activities operated by the Agricultural Research Centers.

“Several investors have approached the University to invest in commercial activities operated by the University’s Agricultural Research Centers. It is our hope that the Centers will venture into full-blown commercial activities very soon,” he said.

UG to recruit more staff

The Vice-Chancellor also announced that the University has received financial clearance from the government to recruit some 430 new staff to replace those who have left active service.

According to him, the embargo on public sector employment had a severe impact on the University, which subsequently did not enhance teaching and learning.

“In July, I informed the congregation that the continued lack of financial clearance for recruitment means that the University is severely constrained in the employment of faculty, administrators and other staff. The situation has changed towards a positive direction. The government has now granted financial clearance for us to replace 430 staff who have left the services of the University,” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor & Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post UG to build 600kW wind turbine appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

 The Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST), University of Ghana, has launched the Economic Inclusion and Poverty Eradication Project (EIPEP) workshop to discuss, plan and implement strategies to achieve a total poverty free country. The opening ceremony of the workshop held on 14^th August, 2017 was attended by dignitaries, Ministers of state, traditional leaders, small scale farmers, business people, investors, academia and researchers.

Chairing the occasion, Dr. Emmanuel Kwaku Asiedu, CEO of Gratis Foundation noted that Ghana is full of resources and has enough fertile land for growing food crops. “The poverty gap in Ghana is a technological gap”, he commented. He further entreated Ghanaians to promote indigenous technology to improve agriculture and be part of the solution to the poverty canker.

Executive Chairman, McDan Group of Companies, Daniel Mckorley advocated that attitudinal change is key to achieving the goal of a poverty free country.  Also speaking at the event, Prof. Moses Foh-Amoaning hinted that “poverty is a security problem”. He stated that practical education was necessary to eradicate poverty. Like wise the service industry will be keen to provide services to push Ghana’s development.

Hon. Gifty Twum, Deputy Minister for Gender requested that in addressing poverty, technological equipment be device to aid the physically challenged in society as they constitute a higher percentage of the poor in the country. She appealed to Ghanaians to patronize locally made products to promote the industry.

In his statement, Hon. Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Sadique, Minister for Inner City and Zongo Development, asserted that development in Ghana has been discriminatory, however the President through the Inner City and Zongo Development Ministry will develop a fair equitable and an all-inclusive society. He stated that helping the Zongos will integrate old societies and create a sustainable society. “Development of Zongo and Inner city will be a manifestation of success of programs such as this”, he added.

The EIPEP workshop is an exclusive Ghanaian Solution designed to engage stakeholders in the general economic development of Ghana through the adoption of practical solutions and innovative technologies. It seeks to eradicate poverty in the long term. It is a cooperation between Bulaiza PLC, Federated Co-operative Multi-Purposed Society Ltd., and the IAST (University of Ghana). The workshop which seeks to be a very useful resource and aid to policy makers and general government agenda for poverty reduction continues till Friday 1^th August, 2017.

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By: citifmonline.com

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Almost 40 professorial appointments at the University of Ghana are on hold due to the failure of government to constitute a governing council for the University.

According to the Registrar and Secretary to the Council of the University, Mercy Haizel Ashia, the absence of a council is affecting the proper administration of the University.

[contextly_sidebar id=”It4zH5VMqj1rkTYA3OkJh7cm5PylDG2l”]“Close to 40 professorial appointments that are awaiting Councils that are coming into office and determining their appointments. What this will mean is that come 1 st August, those whose appointments will lapse on 31st, I really don’t know what will happen. There is a lot of pressure on the management system.”

Even though the previous Council was constituted only four months to the 2016 elections, it was dissolved following the change of government in line with the transitional provisions of the Constitution of Ghana.

Constitute Councils for Universities or face our wrath – UTAG

On Wednesday, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) gave government a two-week ultimatum to constitute Councils of the various universities in the country or face their wrath.

The National President of UTAG, Harry Agbanu, said the situation has left universities in a state of inaction, threatening upcoming graduation and crucial contracts among others.

“UTAG has noted with extreme dismay that government since taking office on 7 July 2017, has not been able to constitute the Councils of public universities in Ghana. The government’s inability to do this, while having constituted other important boards of the state after six good months of office, we believe demonstrates government’s lack of concern of the health of public universities. NEC of UTAG feels strongly it is unacceptable and even unethical for public universities management and administration, and the sooner government constitutes these Councils the better.”

UTAG’s request for the constitution of Governing Councils follows a suit by private citizen, Supt. Kofi Kwayera against the University of Education, Winneba, and the Education Ministry over the unlawful extension of the school’s Governing Council’s tenure.

The leadership of technical universities in Ghana have also issued a two-week ultimatum to government to immediately constitute governing councils for their respective schools.

According to them, the non -existence of governing councils in various technical universities and polytechnics is hampering the smooth administration of the schools.

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By: Marian Ansah & Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The committee ruled that, the declaration of results made by the Electoral Commission on Saturday, April 29, 2017, be upheld to be the valid results of the elections.

To this end, there will be no re-run of the entire election as the petitioners had advocated for. The reasons being that;

1. The claims of irregularities made by the petitioners have not been clearly demonstrated to materially affect the results of the elections.
2. There was not sufficient evidentiary document to support or validate the claims of irregularities made by the petitioners.
3. The claims made were not directly relating to the election results, but relating to the evidence surrounding and leading up to the elections, which should have been raised and addressed before or during the elections.

But the order for the reinstatement and incorporation of votes from VALCO PHASE TWO polling station in the final results of the elections was upheld.

This was so because not incorporating the votes will mean that voters have been disenfranchised as the already cast ballots would not be reflected in the final results.

On this ruling, the votes for only the organizing secretary was counted in the presence of all aspirants, their agents, members of the judicial committee and all observers present.

The results of the number of votes that were cast before the shutdown of the VALCO PHASE TWO polling stations are outlined below;

No CANDIDATE NO OF VOTES

1. Elorm Tagbortor 14
2. Sylvester Amoah 14
3. Angelo Norkplim 15

TOTAL 43

The above votes were incorporated in the already existing votes. Hence, Elorm Tagbortor emerged as the Organizing Secretary Elect for GRASAG-UG.

To this effect therefore, the committee ordered the Electoral Commissioner to republish the final results which would reflect the votes from VALCO Phase Two for the organizing secretary position.

Also, the Association also received the mandate to go ahead with the swearing in as well as the handover processes in a bid to set her on track for the mantle of new leadership, which hopefully would spur her to higher dimensions of growth.
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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post GRASAG UG election results upheld appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.