The Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR), has handed over two 4×4 brand new Nissan Navara pickups to the Procurement Section and the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

 The vehicles, which were each pur­chased at a cost of GH¢ 670,000, were meant to assist in the day-to-day running of the beneficiary offices.

The presentation of the vehicles, assembled by Nissan in Ghana, was done at the forecourt of the Emmanuel Addow Obeng Central Administration on Friday, September 15, 2023.

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The donated vehicles for the two offices

Making the presentation, the Director of ACECoR, Prof. Denis Aheto, said the gesture formed part of the Centre’s commitment to support the activities of the University.

He said the two offices continue to play crucial roles to support the growth of the University, stressing that that the vehicles would motivate their staff  to discharge their duties to the best of their abilities.

Prof. Aheto entreated the beneficiaries to ensure that the vehicles were not only maintained but also used for the intended purpose.

He seized the opportunity to thank management of the University for its continuous support to the ACECoR Project.

The Registrar of UCC, Mr. Jeff Onyame, who took delivery of the vehicles, said the donation was timely and very much welcomed.

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Cutting of tape to unveil the vechicle for Procurement Section

On behalf of the management of UCC, he thanked ACECoR for the donation which he noted would go a long way to support the operations of the beneficiary offices.

Mr. Onyame said management alone could not provide all the logistics to units, sections and departments of the University and appealed to other internally generated entities in the University and other corporate bodies to emulate the example set by ACECoR.

The Registrar urged the beneficiaries to pay particular attention to the proper maintenance of the vehicles to prolong their lifespan.

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Unveiling of the vehicle for Monitoring and Evaluation Office

The Head of the Procurement Section, Mr. Nicolas Ampofo, on his part,  expressed gratitude to ACECoR and added that the donation was a confidence booster for the two offices to do more for the University.

He assured the Registrar and the management of ACECoR  that the vehicles received would be put to good use and properly maintained.

Present at the presentation were the Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof. Moses Eghan; the Dean, School of Biological Sciences, Prof. Aaron Tettey Asare, Director, Consular and General Services, Mrs. Alberta Yaa Graham, Director of Public Affairs, Major Kofi Baah-Bentum,  a section of staff from the Central Administration and ACECoR.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

Traditional authorities have been called on to support government in the country’s fight against illegal mining, colloquially known as “galamsey”. This appeal was made by a Historian of Ghana and the Environment at the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng.

 He described as deeply disturbing the massive degradation of the vegetation and pollution of rivers and streams through galamsey and said traditional rulers owe it a duty to themselves and posterity to protect the forest and water bodies. 

Prof. Kwarteng made the observations while delivering his inaugural lecture on the topic: "The Ideological Square: A Historian’s Framework for Environmental Conservation.”

 Among others, he said government could not fight the menace alone without the involvement of traditional rulers, customarily regarded as custodians of land, and therefore, appealed to them to support government in ensuring a galamsey-free country.

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Prof. Kwarteng with the College of Professors-UCC after his robing

To him, if traditional leaders desist from leasing lands to illegal miners, including Ghanaians and foreigners, it would be very difficult for the miners to access lands to carry out their nefarious activities.

 He maintained that galamsey operators, especially ‘the Chinese’, had resorted to the use of heavy machinery, mercury and cyanide in their operations, causing life threatening health challenges to many people.

 He stated that river bodies and streams were now rendered unfit for drinking and a typical example, according to him, was the River Tano. He noted that government working in concert with Nananom should factor in traditional conservation strategies into the planning of towns.

 “The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and Nananom should maintain the buffer zone of hundred metres or more between river bodies and settlements,” he said.

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A section of participants in the inaugural lecture

To conserve and preserve the environment, Prof. Kwarteng asked traditional overlords to destool sub-chiefs who blatantly engage in indiscriminate sale of lands to illegal miners.

He advised traditional rulers to remain resolute and refuse signing indentures for mining leases that do not provide comprehensive environmental impact assessment. 

Prof. Kwarteng, however, charged chiefs to report illegal miners to the security agencies to make sure that all offenders were dealt with by the laws of the land.

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Prof. Kwarten being congratulated by the Manwrahen of Oguaa Traditional Area, Nana Kweku Enu. Looking on are other chiefs who graced the occasion.

He called for the useful Akan customs, practices and laws such as Awukudae and Akwasidae which had functionally degenerated over time, in order to maintain its legitimacy and reverence in the Ghanaian society to protect the environment.

Profile: Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng

•Born in 1965

• Had his primary and middle education at Gyetiase Local Authority Primary School and the Mim Methodist School

• Attended Ahafo Secondary Technical School and was later transferred to Sunyani Secondary School for both the Ordinary and the Advanced levels.

• Gained admission to UCC to pursue a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Diploma in Education in History and Religious Studies.

• Taught as a professional teacher at Kumasi Senior High School from 1992-1999

•Had M.Phil at UCC

•Appointed as Assistant Lecturer at UCC in 2001

•Had his PhD at the University of Birmingham, UK.

•Served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Mfantsiman Girls' SHS at Saltpond from 2012-2017

•Currently serving as the Chairman of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA)

• Led two separate teams of academics to write the History of UCC in 2022 for the celebration of its 60th anniversary and the History of Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust in 2023 for the celebration of the organisation's Silver Jubilee

•Currently, a member of the newly- constituted Governing Board of Ghana National College.

•Supervised and trained two PhDs and eight MPhil students at the Department of History-UCC.

•Until October 2017, he served as President of University Teachers Association-UCC and a member of the UCC Governing Council.

•Appointed as Full Professor in 2019

•Appointed the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies in 2022

• Married to Mrs. Comfort Osei Kwarteng and blessed with three children: two ladies and a gentleman

•Staunch Christian and a member of the Harvest Chapel International Church

•Delivered Inaugural Lecture on the topic: "The Ideological Square: A Historian's Framework for Environmental Conservation."

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof Johnson Nyarko Boampong, has participated in the China-Africa Cooperation for Development Conference which was organised by the Centre for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) in Beijing.

The event was held from the 29^th -30^th August, 2023, was attended by high profile personalities from several sectors of the economy in Africa and China. Also in attendance were diplomats from the Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Algeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique, Uganda, United Nations, several businesses from China as well as Economic and Educational Think Tanks from across the globe.

The conference was chaired by ZHANG Laiming, Vice Minister of the Development Research Center of the state Council of People Republic of China (DRC) and Chief Vice President of CIKD.

Participants in the forum discussed several topics, including the Belt and Road initiative and China-Africa development cooperation, Industrialization, urbanization and Inclusive Development-with a focus on digital economy, infrastructure, agricultural development, inclusive growth among others, as well as the South-south cooperation and common sustainable development.

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Key International Participants from China and Africa at the Conference

Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor pointed out that education remained a critical area that was worth mentioning within the China-Africa cooperation. “As I speak, the University of Cape Coast is one of the few Universities in Africa that has a Confucius Institute for the study of Chinese language and culture. And I must say that since the establishment of this Institute, the bond between Ghana and China is growing deeper”.

He further stated that “…there are indeed a lot more areas of development cooperation that we are yet to fully explore. Africa still has a lot of untapped potential - not just her natural resources, but also in her human capital. Africa has incredible human talent in her youth.”

 According to the Vice-Chancellor, what was needed to unearth the untapped potential was a commitment by development partners such as China to come to the table with a commitment to have a win-win dialogue towards a shared future that is based on mutual respect for one another.

 For this to happen, Prof. Boampong said, “China and Africa must continue to dialogue. This dialogue must be based on our collective interests taking into cognizance our varied socio-cultural and political circumstances”.

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A delegation of the Association of African Universities at the Beijing Foreign Studies University

As part of the visit to China, the Vice-Chancellor joined his colleagues; Prof. O.B. Kehinde, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokota, Nigeria and the Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, Prof. Olusola Bandele Oyewole to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Chinese Secretariat of the China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism on the 31^st of August, 2023 at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Prof. Boampong also held discussions with the President and a team from the Beijing Foreign Studies University to collaborate with the University of Cape Coast in the areas of education studies and languages. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between UCC and Zheijang Normal University to collaborate in research, student and faculty exchange, staff and development through short courses, curriculum exchange and development as well as joint degree programmes. However, the emphasis of the collaboration will be in the area of education studies and educational research with the view of forming an educational think-tank focusing on China-Africa higher education.

The Vice-Chancellor was accompanied by the Dean of the Office of International Relations, UCC, Prof. Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi.

Source: Documentation and Information Section/OIR-UCC