Rule of Law; The Panacea to UEW Woes!
Just over a month ago, a court of competent jurisdiction reinstated some officers of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), who had hitherto lost their positions arising out of court decisions; thus the rule of law in action!!
All employees of UEW (whether full time or part time, including myself), derive their mandate from the law.
The conditions surrounding the recently reinstated officers of UEW, were clearly stated by the court, especially in respect of positions that had substantive officers and other positions with officers in acting capacity. It is therefore expected that everyone in UEW, will respect the decision and directives of the court. Attempting to give skewed interpretation to the said court ruling as a result of selfish interests, would be a panacea to anarchy in UEW.
There is NO law in Ghana or court directive that provides for the election of UEW Finance Officer by staff of the University!
Total disregard for the laws of this country in the evening of Monday, 7th March, 2022, nearly resulted in mayhem at the residence of Mr. Francis Obeng, the Finance Officer of UEW (the illegal termination of his appointment was reversed under the cover of darkness); when an obese smelly ‘rat’, who could hardly walk as a result of feeding fat on the poor people of Ghana, and stinking to the high with a pungent and nauseating smell, turned up at the residence of the FO and claimed that a known crook had instructed him to come and compel the FO to resign and forcefully evict him from the University bungalow and take custody of the FO’s official vehicle!
A Police Officer (name withheld) also turned up late in the night at the FO’s residence to force Mr. Francis Obeng to resign, after the smelly fat bloke was sent packing in disgrace with his disgusting smell.
The question is, under the provision of which law in this country was this action based on? The IGP will surely hear of this abuse of power.
Mr. Francis Obeng will NEVER resign! If he has breached any of the terms of his employment, the procedure recognized by law to discipline him, is spelt out under Statute 81 of UEW Statutes 2020.
UEW is neither the property of the NPP nor the NDC! It is a State asset and NOT the personal property of crooks parading as whatever to do as they so wish with it. The fake phone call engineered by the known crook by persons claiming to be from wherever, asking Mr. Francis Obeng to resign from the employ of UEW as Finance Officer, will not wash! Such stupid phone calls are outmoded at conception in respect of UEW.
With Convocation elections around the corner, it might jog the stale memory of some officers of UEW by examining the law governing the conduct of that election in detail.
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) Statute 71 provides for the Election of Convocation Representatives on Council.
Statutes 71 stipulates that: “The Registrar shall be the Returning Officer and shall conduct the election by secret ballot. He or she shall be assisted by two scrutineers appointed by Convocation for each Campus. No election shall be valid unless and until the scrutineers for the Campus have certified in writing to the Registrar that the counting of the votes and the declaration of the candidates elected have been correctly carried out”.
From the foregoing, it is clear that no outside body, such as the Electoral Commission (EC), is mandated to conduct the UEW Convocation Election.
UEW is governed by the 1992 Constitution; the University of Education, Winneba Act, 2004 (Act 672); the UEW Statutes 2020; and all other relevant laws in force at all material times.
The actions of all officers of UEW, MUST be in accordance with all the above laws, and NOTHING else! Anything done in UEW outside any of the relevant laws cited above, is ultra vires and therefore, unconstitutional!
The solution to the woes of UEW is not at Jubilee House, but lies squarely at the doorstep of the rule of law, which fortunately does not take bribes and turn a blind eye to wrongs!
Alhassan Salifu Bawah
(son of an upright peasant farmer)