GIMPA Boss Teaches Leadership Website
...Without Authority!` A member of the Governing Council of the Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration (GIMPA), Mr. Frank Ocran, yesterday told the Fast Track High Court, Accra that though the Council has not given any authority to Dr. Stephen Adei as required by the institute`s statutes, he holds himself out as a professor and teaches Governance and Leadership in that capacity at GIMPA. `My Lord, even though Dr. Adei was appointed as Rector of GIMPA he has been teaching Governance and Leadership as a Professor though the Council as the body that has general control of GIMPA has not appointed him as such,` Mr. Ocran told the Court. Mr. Ocran, who is also the Chairman of the State Enterprises Commission also told the Court that even though the Governing Council of GIMPA approved the appointment of Dr. Adei at one of its meetings in 2005 as Rector, the Chairman of the Council. Dr. E. H. Boohene has since refused to sign Dr. Adei`s appointment letter as required by the law establishing GIMPA for `...obvious reasons.` Section 22(3) of ACT 676, the establishment law of GIMPA provides that `the terms and conditions of the Rector shall be specified in the Rector`s letter of appointment.` Mr. Ocran, who appeared in Court on the pain of a subpoena issued by Plaintiff in the matter, Mr. Egbert Faibille Jnr., told the Court during cross-examination by Counsel for Dr. Stephen Adei, Mr. Stanley Amarteifio that the conventions and other standards at GIMPA require that before any academic staff at GIMPA is permitted or appointed to teach, his or her certificates and other qualifications are vetted and validated by the Appointments and Promotions Committee of the institute. Section 14(a) of the Statutes of GIMPA in force provide that `Subject to the Law, appointments to positions of Senior Member shall be the responsibility of the Management Board acting on behalf of the Court (Governing Council), except that no appointment to the status of Principal Lecturer or Professor may be made without the approval of the Court. The functions of the Management Board herein shall be performed by the Appointments and Promotions Committee.` `My Lord, the GIMPA Council is the appointing authority. In respect of appointments of junior non academic staff at GIMPA, the Council has virtually ceded their appointments to the Rector and the management of GIMPA to appoint on its behalf but with respect to appointment to the academic staff at GIMPA, the Council has an Appointments and Promotions Committee which vets applicants for the positions of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor. After the vetting is done, a recommendation is made to the Council to either appoint or not appoint applicants. So before anyone is appointed a professor at GIMPA, he or she must have the prior approval of the Council, which prior approval Dr. Adei does not have. In the case of Dr. Adei even though the Council appointed him to the administrative position of Rector, he teaches,` Mr. Ocran told the Court in cross-examination. Mr. Amarteifio had asked Mr. Ocran if the GIMPA Council in appointing Dr. Adei as Rector appointed him to an administrative or academic position. Section 22(2) of ACT 676 provides that `The Rector is the principal academic and administrative officer of the Institute and the chief executive of the Institute.` Mr. Ocran, who has been a member of the Governing Council of GIMPA since 1996 and therefore was part of the GIMPA Council (the then Court of Governors) that appointed Dr. Adei to a first five year term as Director General of GIMPA IN 1999 told the Court that neither the previous Court of Governors of GIMPA nor the present Council of GIMPA had given any authority to Dr. Adei as a professor as required by the statutes of GIMPA. He however explained in response to a question from Mr. Amarteifio that when the issue of Dr. Adei`s purported professorship came to the GIMPA Council`s notice (from the publications of this paper), the Council met on the issue and wrote to Dr. Adei that he should not hold himself out as a professor since the Council has not appointed nor approved any such appointment in his favour. `My Lord, when we wrote to Dr. Adei not to hold himself out as a professor, he wrote back to the Council that he will not comply with the directive,` Mr. Ocran further told the Court. He said the GIMPA Council also decided not to comment on the issue in the press. Asked by Mr. Amarteifio if there was a person like Professor Frimpong Boateng on the GIMPA Council previously as well as other professors, Mr. Ocran replied in the affirmative. In response to another question by Mr. Amarteifio as to whether Prof. Frimpong Boateng and other professors on the GIMPA Council required validation of their professorships by the GIMPA Council before they could hold themselves out as Professors, Mr. Ocran replied in the negative and said `My Lord, in the case of Prof. Frimpong Boateng and other professors on the GIMPA Council, they were appointed by an appointing authority and not subject to the GIMPA Council. The appointing authority for GIMPA Council may even decide to appoint fitters to the Council and it will not be the responsibility of the Council to vet them but when you are a functionary of GIMPA like Dr. Adei, you are subject to the GIMPA Council for authority to hold yourself out as a professor after due process has been adhered to.` Asked if he was part of the GIMPA Council members who criticised the GIMPA Council Chairman on his refusal to sign Dr. Adei`s appointment letter as agreed by the Council, he replied in the affirmative. Mr. Ocran, who by virtue of being a member of the Governing Council of GIMPA and therefore a 2nd Defendant in the matter was led in evidence by Mr. James Agalga, Counsel for Mr. Faibille Jnr. Sitting continues today with the Chairman of the GIMPA Council, Dr. Boohene, expected to appear by way of a subpoena to produce certain documents in respect of Dr. Adei and GIMPA
Source: PFM
