By Maxwell Awumah/Sammy Akumatey
Ho, July 23, GNA – The Management of the University of Health and Allied Sciences UHAS has said that the Chinese funded US$60 Million Phase two of its projects was a new grant engineered under the government of President Akufo-Addo.
The concept notes of Phase two was approved in 2019 and sod was cut for the project in 2021 by President Akufo-Addo, which had been completed and ready for commissioning on July 29, this year.
The Management has, therefore, discounted claims that funding for the Phase two projects were secured under the erstwhile late President John Evans Atta Mills regime, explaining that cost for the inception works was US$20 Million.
Professor Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor of UHAS, in an exclusive interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the communication to honour the President had received some backlash with inaccurate presentations in the public and deemed it important to douse these inaccuracies.
Meanwhile, the youth wing of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a youth group calling itself Concerned Youth of Volta, have called on UHAS Council and Management to discard plans to decorate President Akufo-Addo with an Honorary doctorate degree.
The group, at separate press conferences with the last one on Monday, challenged the merit of the honour to be given the President and claimed he did little to support the development of the University, established by late President Atta Mills as the nation’s a premier health training institution.
According to the groups, the University had ignored the honour of the initiators and founders and said the President’s affiliation to a political party known to have sneered at the conception of the institution made him undeserving of the recognition.
“It is unthinkable and surprising that the governing council of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) could bypass the architect and initiators of this noble health institution and honour the President which we see as do little in the development of the school such as road network in the hostel facilities in the school.
“The honorary doctorate degree proposal is purely partisan and should not be allowed to see the light of day, The partisan conferment has the tendency to tarnish the image of UHAS’s reputation.
“We are at this juncture calling on the Vice-Chancellor and the University Governing Council, to as a matter of urgency withdraw the proposed event.
“To his Excellency President Nana Addo, we equally called on to write back to the University Council stating he is not interested in the confernment,” Oscar Akabah Norviexoxo, spokesperson for the group, said.
The group threatened a physical protest if calls were not heeded to.
Contrary, Prof Aziato explained that the University from its inception had given some Honorary doctorate degrees with the first recipient being former First Lady, Mrs Naadu Mills, wife of the late President Atta-Mills and other distinguished personalities underscoring that honorary decorations were not given posthumously, reason Mrs Mills was honoured.
She said the University also established the John Evans Atta-Mills Memorial Lectures in his memory, adding that the highest honour to be given to the late President was naming UHAS after him.
The VC said the vision of the late President for UHAS was to make the University as a “special project,” where funds were committed to its progress annually to make it a complete medical University.
She said the University should have had a teaching hospital, medical school and other facilities, which are yet to be achieved.
She said when she took office in 2022, her attention was drawn to the new phase two of the projects, which was a new grant, adding that the first phase was US$20 million and the second, US$60 million.
She said in 2023, the nomination from the Governing Council to honour President Akufo-Addo was based on his role in the second phase of the University projects and other national contributions in the education sector with notable achievements such as the ambitious Free SHS, the development of STEM education and the realisation of the UHAS Phase two project.
Prof Aziato disclosed that work on Phase Three had been activated and prayed the deal materialised.
Ms Yaa Amankwaa Opuni, Registrar of UHAS, who was an inception member of staff said Management were bound by decisions made by the Governing Council, adding that the University had acknowledged its challenges, but they would honour the people, who had made contributions to impact the growth of the University.
She said there were no documents that showed that grants were secured in succession of phases.
GNA