A statement by a certain Concerned Staff of UEW and a followed-up interview on Eyewitness News of Citi FM with Prof. George Kankam on the above-mentioned subject has come to our attention.
The contents of the release are unsavoury, unfortunate, reprehensible, and targeted at running down the reputation and the relentless effort of the Council Chairman in his leadership to bring lasting peace to UEW. Since his assumption of office in 2021, the Chairman has done nothing but unify the various factions in advance of the mission and vision of the university.
We view the statement as a diversionary tactic to coerce the Chairman to submit to their whims and caprices, however inimical it may be to achieving the mission and vision of the university.
Be that as it may, we wish to respond as follows:
Contrary to the impression that there is heightened tension at UEW and that the community is tipping towards a state of chaos, we wish to state unequivocally that there is absolute peace on campus with students, faculty, and other stakeholders going about their normal business.
In fact, workers feel a renewed sense of energy and purpose in pursuing the mission and vision of the university. It is trite knowledge that this resurgent working environment at UEW has to a great extent come from the Council’s wisdom, under the leadership of Nana Ofori Ansah I, to constitute a reconciliation committee to hear aggrieved people and the subsequent implementation of the committee’s recommendations. This fact can be verified by any media outlet interested in reporting the truth.
The assertion that, barely seven months into his tenure, the local branches of the University Teachers Association of Ghana and the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) issued a joint press statement calling on the appointing authorities to withdraw Nana Ofori Ansah I’s appointment as the Chairman of the Governing Council falls flat in the face.
The key is that the said statement was discredited as unilateral, and as a result, the authors of the said statement have since retracted and apologised unreservedly to Nana Ofori Ansah I. One is therefore at a loss as to why that statement can be used as the basis to lay claim to anything.
The allegation that the Council Chairman disregarded statutes and established procedures, for instance, in the appointment of the Chancellor for the university, is a red herring relative to UEW 2020 Statute Four (4), which provides for the appointment of a Chancellor.
The provisions of UEW 2020 Statute Four were accorded full legal effect. It would, therefore, have been better for appreciation if the specific provision(s) breached were stated. In the absence of the aforementioned, it is our considered view that the frivolous claim should be disregarded with the contempt it deserves.
1. Extension of the deadline without cause to pave the way Chairman’s preferred candidate
2. How Chairman’s preferred candidate who placed sixth and wasn’t shortlisted magically became third on the shortlist and was appointed chancellor
3. Chairman moving a motion for the acceptance of his preferred candidate contrary to establish rules and conventions
4. Chairman’s reluctance in implementing the 2021 Search Committee report (What are the challenges associated with the implementation of the 2021 report as it stands?)
5. Chairman’s categorical statement to local executives of UTAG and GAUA to the effect that he wasn’t interested in implementing the 2021 search committee report
6. UEW refused to enter an appearance in respect of the application for an injunction on the 2021 search committee report
7. Chairman’s show of double standards in rejecting the 2021 search committee in one hand and on another breath introducing Prof. Mitchual, who placed a distant third and wasn’t shortlisted in the questionable report as the incoming VC.
8. A claim that the Chairman at a meeting with faculty members said that some people under the erstwhile administration enjoyed and it is time for a new group to enjoy.
9. Reference to UG who faced a similar injunction
10. Allocation of an official vehicle to the Chairman for personal use
Source: Ghana Web
