Efutu Traditional Council pushes for peace in UEW following recent dismissals

The Efutu Traditional Council led by the Paramount Chief of the Efutu Traditional Area, Nenyi Ghartey VII are meeting authorities of the University of Education, Winneba, to push for peace and development in the University.

The meeting comes on the back of the dismissal of five principal officers of the institution on Tuesday, August 14 by the governing council of the University of Education, Winneba.

The five including the Vice-Chancellor who was serving a suspension, Professor Mawutor Avoke, Finance Officer, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, Daniel Tetteh, Mary Dzimey and Frank Owusu Boateng had been interdicted in July 2017 by the UEW governing council to allow for investigations after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation had gone missing.

The Traditional council wants to play an active role in the affairs of the University to help the University advance in spite of its recent problems.

Factions have emerged over who should lead the University after an Assemblyman, Supi Kofi Kwayera took the Principal Officers of the institution to court citing various breaches of the relevant statutes of the University and the constitution.



But the traditional area wants peace to prevail for the sake of the students and the development of the University.

Member of Parliament for the area, Kwamina Afenyo Markin, the MCE for Efutu and other opinion leaders of the community are present at the meeting which is expected to yield positive results as regarding the University and its progress.

Background

A Winneba High Court in 2017 ordered Professor Mawutor Avoke, to step aside until a case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council is determined.

The order was made in a case brought before the court by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, who insisted that the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer, were operating under the institution’s defunct governing council.



The plaintiff adduced that the University’s Council’s mandate had expired in November 2013, but the Education Ministry failed to constitute a new Governing Council for the university, and rather allowed and permitted the defunct Governing Council which had no mandate whatsoever to continue the functions of a properly constituted Governing Council as if same had been properly constituted.

This, Mr. Kwayera insisted was unlawful, and hence his legal action against the University of Education, Winneba.

However, before the substantive claims were looked into, the University, through its lawyers, applied to the court to dismiss the suit on the three counts, but the application was dismissed.



The High Court subsequently found Professor Avoke, and the school’s Finance Officer, Dr. Theopholus Senyo Ackorlie, guilty of procurement and other financial irregularities.

The court subsequently ordered the retrieval of all monies paid to the contractors of the North Campus Roads and a forensic audit of the project.