The University of Ghana Staff, who are living in these bungalows, have been experiencing frequent break-ins which led to them setting up a CCTV camera to monitor activities in the area.

That decision has been justified as Haruna Abass, suspected to be behind a number of the recent burglaries has now been caught.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kofi Anokye, the Legon District Commander, confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

Abass was found carrying two flat-screen TV sets and a GTP wax print by the University’s security night patrol team, who, suspecting that he stole the items, arrested and handed him over to the police.

CCTV footage played at the police station later, showed him breaking into the bungalows on separate occasions and making off with stolen items.

Confronted with the evidence, he reportedly confessed to the crime and would be facing charges of unlawful entry and stealing.

–

Source: GNA

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No timeline has been given for when payment will eventually be made.

A memo, sighted by Citi News, from the University Registry also revealed that the University has 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 said the “processing and release of the compensation subvention for January and February has been delayed.”

“Therefore, payment for March 2018 salaries cannot be made as scheduled. It is not possible to borrow for a third month to pay salaries,” the memo added.

Assurances have been given that “efforts are being made by management to ensure that the delay does not prolong.”

Payment of salaries at the university is normally effected by the 25th day of the month.

The staff of the University would have been expecting their salaries this past Friday, March 23.

Carbon copy of 2014

The university was faced with a similar situation in February 2014 when salaries delayed.

The delayed payment of the salaries at the time was also due to cen­tral government’s failure to release subventions.

The memo from that time, also signed by Mercy Haizel-Ashia read: “The University Community is informed that the University is unable to pay salaries for February 2014 due to the delay in the release of Government Subvention.” Payment of salaries will be made as soon as the sub­vention is received.”

At that time, salaries delayed for about 10 working days before payment was eventually made.

–

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

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Mr. Yankah’s comments come weeks after the Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, indicated that the school  might soon be privatized if it fails to meet its obligations in a $64 million agreement it entered into with a private company, Africa Integras.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7uM21xNOjnmWeLDUxWwcc8BUFCO5DYpk”]“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,” the Minister had stated.

But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Professor Yankah said government will ensure the school remains a valuable state asset.

“It is our prime university, the number one university in the country – probably the number one in West Africa…Fortunately, there appears to be a resolution in the offing. Parties are talking as we speak now and there appears to a resolution in one form or the other. We will do anything possible to save the University. We will not just sit and allow the University to collapse.”

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.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Mr Derrick Adu-Gyamfi who represented George Osei Mensah, the accused, argued that there had been an unreasonable delay in the trial of his client.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1maUnKDcXdVG5GRGRPdKbEEva9nGtyUX”]He pointed out to the court presided over by Mr Richard D. Anku that the full report from the pathologist was not ready and the Police are still waiting for the said report to facilitate their investigations as well as build a duplicate docket to the Office of the Attorney General for advice.

“This is a clear case of unreasonable delay and my client’s liberty is being curtailed. My client is innocent until he has been proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction,” defence counsel said.

According to the counsel, he was not seeking bail because the district court did not have the jurisdiction to grant bail.

He therefore appealed to the Court to impress upon the Police to expedite action on the matter.

Prosecuting Inspector Joyce Ninson told the court that the Police are still waiting for the full autopsy report from the pathologist.

Prosecution said the Police would need the report to enable them to build a duplicate docket to be sent to the Attorney General’s Department for advice.

The court, therefore ordered the prosecution to expedite action in securing the autopsy report for the trial to commence.

“I advise that the prosecution should liaise with the Pathologist and the Attorney General so that trial would continue,” the Magistrate said.

The matter has been adjourned to April 5.

Mensah was put before the court for allegedly stabbing Martin Tweneboah aka Vandal Tipsy, aged 32 with a broken bottle at the Commonwealth Hall on December 9, 2017.

The accused, who is facing a provisional charge of murder have had his plea reserved by the court.

The case of prosecution was that Mensah and Tweneboah attended a funeral of a former student of the University of Ghana, who was a vandal at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region.

Prosecution said while the two were in the Commonwealth Hall van on their way back to Accra, they engaged in a heated argument over who was a vandal and who was not.

According to prosecution, Tweneboah allegedly ordered Mensah to get out of the van since it was for vandals.

When the two arrived at the University‘s campus, the argument heated up and Mensah allegedly grabbed an empty bottle, broke it and stabbed Tweneboah multiple times in the neck.

A report was made to the Police after Tweneboah had been rushed to the Legon Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

–

Source: GNA

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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

–

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

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He attributed the mass failure to a number of factors including the one-year Ghana School of Law programme which he said leaves students with limited time to study.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZJE1BSrSoIISMs64iUISxG8mq4ecp62o”]“When I heard the news and read it, I said this is disastrous,” he said on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday.

“…The statistics we have point to the fact that out of the over 500 students who sat for the exams, only 91 students passed in all 10 courses,” the school’s SRC President, Samuel Gyamfi told Citi News earlier.

The SRC, which expressed anger over the issue had earlier called for the school’s Independent Examinations Board, which conducted the exams and was responsible for the marking of the scripts, to be scrapped, describing it as a threat to legal education in Ghana, after only 91 of the over 500 students passed the exams.

The law lecturer also complained that the reduction of the number of years students spent on campus from two to one, is “a travesty of justice.”

“That decision to actually transition from the two-year classroom work which was compressed to one year was a serious travesty of justice. I had occasions where when I was in the school of law Legon, acting on behalf of the dean then, in deans meeting, it came up strongly that the decision was poorly thought through by the General Legal Council because it was not serving any purpose. You finish all the academic work in one year and unleash unto the field for a couple of months to go and do what is called internship.”

“These are internships that may not really add a lot to your study. Then you come, you are called to the bar. I think that period is a wasted period and should have been added to the classroom work. They have to think of just going back to the system that existed in the past where academic year was for two years.”

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the law lecturer also blamed the leadership of the Ghana School of Law for the mass failure rate.

He also raised concerns with the setting of questions and marking of scripts by the school’s Independent Examinations Board instead of the lecturers.

“It borders on a number of issues. When we entered law school, the system that was being run was that you knew who was setting the question because they were the people who were teaching the courses. The other bit is that since they were the ones who set the questions they were the ones who marked. So you could have that level of predictability in terms of answering the questions.”

“When we were in law school, and as it existed then, we had the courses being taken in two years. There was later, a bit of transitioning into a new arrangement, where all the courses were now being taken in a year.  If you are going by it…students basically had very short period of rest in between and all the time they had to work. So those are some of the factors which I believe might have contributed to this disastrous outcome,” he added.

Controversy over LI 

The development comes at a time when Parliament is debating an LI brought before it by the General Legal Council (GLC); the body that oversees the legal profession and legal education in Ghana.

The LI, if endorsed by Parliament will see the legalization of entrance examination and interview processes by the GLC for prospective law students.

The GLC insists the measures will ensure only qualified persons are admitted to produce quality lawyers in the country. However, some have suggested that the recent failure makes nonsense of the processes, and emphasizes on the need for focus to be placed on restructuring the school’s curriculum.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to Mr. Segbefia, the second phase of the project, which was expected to cost about 48 million dollars would be paid for by the University after an agreement was reached for the institution to guarantee the loan.

This, he said, meant that the University would be responsible for the payment of the loan for that phase of the project, and handle the running costs of the hospital after five years.

“The whole idea of this project was that there was a phase 2, which at the time, was going to cost us $48 million. That was a loan that had to be guaranteed by the University of Ghana. By so doing, it meant that when the loan is taken out, the University of Ghana would be responsible for making the payments on the $50 million, not the $217 million. That is why it was important that they had management control. The whole hospital’s running costs was going to be dealt with by government for only five years. After that the running costs plus the $50 million had to be paid for by the running of the hospital,” he said on Point Blank on Eyewitness News.

“It became imperative that Legon, that was meant to guarantee that loan was to be involved in the management of the hospital. From Day 1, it was crafted in the manner in which Legon would have some level of management control and Board of Director control of the hospital.”

The ongoing tussle between the University and the Ministry of Health over the management of the facility, has been suggested as the reason it remains idle despite being commissioned in 2016 by the President John Dramani Mahama.

Despite the initial assurance that a concrete announcement on the resolution of the impasse would be made at the end of last week, the two parties have been unable to reach a compromise.

However, Alex Segbefia stated that, while the University of Ghana would run the facility, the Health Ministry would still be involved as was the case with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) hospitals.

According to him, the only uncertainty over the management of the hospital’s facilities was in relation to the training suites which was expected to be resolved after discussions between the two stakeholders.

“I believe the [debate] over the management is a non-starter. There was always going to be Ministry of Health involvement because of the recruitment of staff, because of the people who have already been trained, we sent people to Israel for training. That was already on the cards. The Ministry of Health is not in charge of the CHAG hospitals, but we are involved in their staffing and the recruitment of staff, and we have a good liaison with them. This would have been no different. There was also a question mark as to whether we would leave the training suites with Legon on its own or to be co-managed with the Ministry of Health to ensure that we had training facilities right across the country, not just for those Legon wanted to put through training because we saw it as a national asset as well,” he said.

“The only question of complete management was with the training suites. Other than that, it was meant to be run by Legon. They would have full control at a certain point. Whether or not Legon took the decision to go with some advice as to whether they wanted to draw in expertise management to assist or not, was a matter that Legon was going to debate with the Ministry of Health. But the whole idea was that Legon was going to manage it.”

Background

The UG Medical Centre, which had its first phase completed was ready to commence operations after being inaugurated by former President John Mahama in after completion in November 2016.

The facility has been idle since the commissioning of its first phase in January 2017, because authorities of the University are at odds with the Health Ministry on who should manage the facility.

Whereas the University believes processes leading to the construction of the facility gives it a direct oversight role of the Medical Centre, the current Ministry of Health under the Akufo-Addo government thinks otherwise.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, had earlier said government currently needed about $6 million to make the facility operational, and an additional $50 million to complete the phase two of the project.

In 2012, the government signed a contract with Messrs. Engineering and Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the facility.

The University of Legon designated 400 acres of land for the entire project. About 800 personnel were said to be needed to get the facility fully operational.

There’s currently an ongoing meeting between government and the University management as well as other stakeholders on the way forward.

Blame NDC for non-functional CHPS compounds – Segbefia

Also speaking on the state of non-functional CHPS compounds in the country, Alex Segbefia conceded that the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration should be held responsible for some of the abandoned facilities.

According to him, a major reason for the sad state of affairs, was the lack of accommodation for staff.

–

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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There is a current stand-off  between the University of Ghana and the Ministry of Health over who has the mandate to manage the $217 million health facility.

Whereas the University is of the view that it has the sole right to manage the facility, the Ministry of Health thinks otherwise.

[contextly_sidebar id=”0DoNE80QtuVavbfPiXLjjJMSKmn5YG3W”]These and many other reasons including the Ministry of Health’s claim that an amount of $6 million is needed to make the facility operational, have contributed in making the hospital dormant, despite it having ultra-modern facilities installed in it.

Prof. Aryeetey encouraged the University not to stand up and rightfully claim ownership of the hospital.

“The University needs to stand up and fight for what is rightfully its property,” he added in a Citi News interview.

Health Ministry can’t claim ownership of Medical Centre

Prof. Ernest Aryeetey in the interview further challenged the Ministry of Health to provide evidence, indicating that they must take ownership of the University’s Medical Center.

Prof. Aryeetey insisted that, the hospital was never built for the Ministry, and charged the University to rise up and fight for its property.

“It was never built for the Ministry of Health, and I’m challenging the Ministry of Health or anybody with any information that the hospital was built for the Ministry of Health to come out and give us the evidence. The hospital is at Legon because Legon asked for it.”

Health Ministry peddling ‘lies’ about UG Medical Centre

The former Vice Chancellor also took on the Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, who had alleged that Prof. Aryeetey and two other persons – former Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle Nunoo, and Prof. Aaron Nii Lante Lawson, have registered the University of Ghana Medical Center in their names, saying Mr. Gyedu was throwing dust into the eyes of the public.

“Lying to the people of Ghana that the company was registered in my name is unacceptable, it’s completely unacceptable.  It is a lie and he knows it. His Minister made an earlier lie and the fact that they continue with this lie is what annoys me. So you have a deputy minister and a minister of health lying about a public facility, lying about an individual or individuals and yet they perpetuate it. They go all with it hoping to create a bad name for me,” he noted.

–

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

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The Deputy Minister had alleged that the former Vice Chancellor and two other persons – former Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle Nunoo, and Prof. Aaron Nii Lante Lawson, have registered the University of Ghana Medical Center in their names.

“It will shock Ghanaians to hear that a limited liability company such as the facility has been registered in the names of Rojo Mettle Nunoo, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey and one Prof. Aaron Nii Lante Lawson in their respective names” the deputy minister reportedly said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”SvDUXGcZCF7q0ND3xcxrpePSeMwd3Jwi”]But speaking to Citi News’ Caleb Kudah, the former University of Ghana Vice Chancellor said the Deputy Minister lied.

“Lying to the people of Ghana that the company was registered in my name is unacceptable, it’s completely unacceptable.  It is a lie and he knows it. His Minister made an earlier lie and the fact that they continue with this lie is what annoys me. So you have a deputy minister and a minister of health lying about a public facility, lying about an individual or individuals and yet they perpetuate it. They go all with it hoping to create a bad name for me,” he noted.

Prof. Aryeetey explained that the Deputy Minister’s claim suggests that he is clueless on how companies are registered in the country, adding that the hospital was registered in the name of the University of Ghana.

He explained that when registering companies, there is the need to provide the names of the directors, adding that in this case, he was authorized as Vice Chancellor, while Prof Lawson was authorized as the Project Manager by the University Council to front for the hospital.

Confusion over the Medical centre

The Medical Centre, which cost about $217 million is still not operational, although the phase one has been completed for about a year now.

There is currently a tussle between the Ministry of Health and the University over the rightful managers of the facility.

Whereas the Ministry of Health believes it is the appropriate body to properly manage the facility, authorities at the University think otherwise.

Following the public uproar over the delay in opening the facility, the Ministry of Health further disclosed that it needs about $6 million to make it operational.

Health Ministry can’t claim ownership of Medical Centre

Prof. Ernest Aryeetey in the interview further challenged the Ministry of Health to provide evidence indicating that they must take ownership of the University’s Medical Center.

Prof. Aryeetey insisted that the hospital was never built for the Ministry, and charged the University to rise up and fight for its property.

“It was never built for the Ministry of Health, and I’m challenging the Ministry of Health or anybody with any information that the hospital was built for the Ministry of Health to come out and give us the evidence. The hospital is at Legon because Legon asked for it.”

Clueless Minister

Prof. Aryeetey also lambasted the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, saying he does not understand his job as the Minister.

“He hasn’t understood it, and because he is adding mischief to his lack of understanding it is leading to this kind of mess we have here. The University needs to stand up and fight for what is rightfully its property,” he added.

–

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

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The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Samuel Kwame Offei, said going forward, their programmes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, would concentrate on creating the 21st century graduate, by focusing on critical and analytical thinking, entrepreneurship and intellectual development, and on making all their programmes more responsive to the needs of the country and industry.

“We need to work together to ensure that the youth are well trained and ready for modern work place by the time they leave school, and I am sure that all of us here today are committed to working to make sure that this does take place,” Prof Offei stated in his closing remarks at the end of the 69th Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) in Accra.

“There is a critical need to focus more on education and training, as one of the surest ways of equipping our young people with the requisite skills for the world of work,” he said.

“There is the need for a comprehensive national re-assessment of skills development across the educational landscape that will insight the development of a skills development policy for the country,” Prof Offei added.

He noted that unemployment had economic, social and political consequences and every nation must ensure that their youth find jobs in the public or private sector, or be able to create their own jobs when they graduate.

He said the youth were a resource that needs to be fully harnessed to provide the critical ingredient for social cohesion and national development.

He also recounted that Dr Sam Jonah, the Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital, who delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 69th ANYSC, had noted that “we cannot develop as a nation until we take bold decisions and act expeditiously to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive”

Prof Offei said: “When the private sector develops, jobs can be created to address the unemployment challenges facing the country”.

The Acting Provost of the College of Education, and the Dean of the School of Continuing and Distance Education at the University of Ghana, Michael Ayitey Tagoe, said one of the major objectives of the ANYSC was to shape public policy through the recommendations of the School.

He said one of the major outcomes of the 69th ANYSC had been the fact that Government alone could not create jobs; declaring that “The private sector must be seen to be leading the agenda of job creation in Ghana”.

Among the dignitaries who graced the closing ceremony was Professor Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi, the immediate past Dean of the School of Continuing and Distance Education.

The event on the theme “Job Creation for Accelerated National Development: The Role of the Private Sector”, recorded an the participation of over 320 people, which is the highest ever over the past decade.

The ANYSC is organised annually by the School of Continuing and Distance Education, to provide a platform for a dispassionate discussion of important issues of national and international concern.

The week-long event was under the auspices of Komos Energy, Vodafone Ghana, Goil, Voltic, Daily Graphic, Prudential Bank and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana.

–

Source: GNA

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