UTAG tags president for impeachment

Members of the University of Ghana branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) are up in arms against their national President, Prof Charles Ofosu Marfo.

The lecturers have initiated an impeachment process against the KNUST lecturer, who say they are sidelining their views on the Public Universities Bill.

“At this emergency meeting held on Thursday, June 11, 2020, the University of Ghana branch of UTAG (UG-UTAG) resolve to initiate impeachment proceedings against the national president of UTAG for consistently misrepresenting and sidelining UG-UTAG’s position on the Public Universities Bill 2020 in his public engagements,” the lecturers explained in a statement.

The plan to impeach the national President, according to UG-UTAG, is in line with Article XXIV Clause I and Article XXV Clause 1 of the UTAG national constitution.

In a statement signed by Dr Samuel Nkumbaan, UG-UTAG President accused Professor Charles Ofosu Marfo of his compromise on the Public Universities Bill.

“UG-UTAG has observed that the demeanour and public utterances of the national president suggest that he is not committed to carrying out the mandate of the public universities, which is, advocating for the withdrawal or rejection of the Public Universities Bill by the Executive or Parliament, respectively.”

“Per Article XXIV Clause 1 and Article XXV Clause 1 of the UTAG National Constitution, we have initiated impeachment proceedings against the National President. We believe he is not serving the interest of UTAG members in this PUB matter,” excerpts of the statement read.

UG-UTAG explained in the statement that the proposed Public Universities Bill 2020 when passed, will give room for ‘unnecessary’ government interference in the affairs of public universities.

UG-UTAG has therefore dissociated itself from the position taken by the national president to get the Bill passed into law.

“We feel that the [UTAG] president is not properly positioned now to be able articulate that position for us and we have lost faith in him because the mandate given him has not been properly exercised, it has been compromised and so we have to take him out of the way and get somebody to represent us,” a spokesperson and Associate Professor of Law at UG, Kwadwo Attuah Appiagyei said in an interview.

UTAG President dismisses reports

Prof. Charles Ofosu Marfo has however dismissed the reports and said the allegations levelled against him are baseless.

“He [the UG Spokesperson] actually engineered the cover letter he put on the memo. Every UTAG rejects the bill and in it’s present state, it’s unconstitutional and we all agree but why did we decide to give inputs…Why is he behaving this way. They don’t even know how to impeach a UTAG president,” Prof Marfo stated.

The Public University Bill, 2020 when passed will among other things give the President, the powers to appoint Vice Chancellors and majority members of the University Council.

This has attracted wide public criticisms from stakeholders of education, including former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey.

The University of Ghana lecturers contend that Vice-Chancellors could become puppets of politicians under the Public University Bill.

The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences has described the bill as poorly motivated.

Former Vice-Chancellors of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey and Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah have all called for the Bill to be withdrawn from Parliament.

Source: Daily Mail GH