A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr has called on government to strengthen negotiation processes to ensure that the nation gains substantially from local and international agreements.

Prof. Sawyerr noted that public agreements, whether conducted by government or on its behalf played a vital role in structuring and management of the national economy and society. “What agreements are made by the state and its agencies, their quality, and how well they are managed are critical to national development of national development and general well-being,” he explained.

Prof. Sawyerr made the call when he delivered the 12th Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures on the theme “Negotiation and Management of Public Agreements: Our national Achilles Heel”. The two-day lecture examined some agreements government of Ghana has entered into with some local and international organisations as well as other countries in three sectors namely, natural resources, national security and energy.

He mentioned three main agreements between government of Ghana and Goldfields Ghana Limited 2016; 2018 USA Defence Cooperation and Novation and Amendment of Ameri Agreement as some of the questionable agreements in recent times.

He noted that though the subject matter of the three agreements varies widely from natural resources investments and management, to international security agreements, each illustrated aspects of the inadequacy of technical preparation for entering into public agreements. He noted that the agreements showed limited competence and effectiveness in negotiation, oversight, approval and follow-up of such agreements and mishandling of the fall-out of concluded agreements.

Prof. Sawyerr recommended the need for Ghana to consider the consequences of agreements the state entered into on the development of the country. He asked government to allow qualified professionals to lead negotiations of agreements so that the national interest would be protected. “Without denying the role of political/policy leadership, allow technical people to lead on technical issues that is from engineering, to finance, to law),” he added.

The former Vice-Chancellor stressed on the need to ensure access to a pool of professionals in negotiation skills by encouraging universities to introduce programmes on negotiation skills. He said this would help to build a cadre of seasoned negotiators both in the public service and the private sector.

The former Vice-Chancellor reminded government that it owed a duty to Ghanaians to disclose details of any agreement the state enters into for the public to make informed decisions. He said, as a corrective to such secrecy, some countries like Colombia, United Kingdom, Slovakia and Georgia have adopted the regime of open contracting. He explained that, “Open contracting seeks to ensure transparency at all stages of contracting: from planning, selection, through procurement and execution to budget, disbursement and corporate disclosure”.

Prof. Sawyerr noted that public disclosure happened in some instances.  However, he noted that “While there are legitimate commercial, national-security, and privacy concerns, they involve a small minority of contracts and can be addressed using a principles-based redaction policy”.

Given the serious consequences of the recent government negotiations, Prof. Sawyerr further recommended “Open Contracting” regime as worthy of investigation and consideration for adoption with appropriate modifications.

Prof. Sawyerr was later conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Letters (D. Litt, Honoris Causa) as part of a Special Congregation held in his honour during the second day of the lecture. The Chancellor, Sir Dr Sam E. Jonah and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah decorated Prof. Akilagpa with a Ph. D gown at the ceremony. Present were the Oguamanhene, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II ; Chairman of UCC Council, Mrs. Nancy O. C. Thompson; Former Minister of Education, Prof. Dominic Fobih; Former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. D. D. Kuupole , Provosts of College and some traditional leaders of the Oguaa Traditional. 

The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures series was instituted by the University of Cape Coast in 1974 and inaugurated in November, 1976 by the First Chancellor of the University, Dr. Archie Casely Hayford.

The lectures are dedicated to the memory of the late First President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The University of Cape Coast as the lead institution in collaboration with its partners has developed three new Striga-resistant cowpea genotypes purposely for the three regions in the northern part of Ghana.

The partners are Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), the Plant Genetic Resources and Research Institute (PGRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as well as the University of Virginia, USA.

The three new cowpea genotypes, which have been recommended by the National Varietal Release and Registration Committee for approval, are resistant to all the known races of the parasitic weed, Striga gesnerioides in West Africa. Striga is a parasitic weed that infest and impose physiological stress to retard the growth and development of cowpea, leading to up to 100 % yield losses in the dry savannah agro-ecological zones of Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of Ghana.

Improvement in the Newly Developed Cowpea Genotype

According to the Principal Investigator of the Cowpea Project, Dr. Aaron T. Asare, the newly developed cowpeas for the northern part of Ghana were improvement over existing varieties for bearing resistant gene to control all known races of Striga, not only in Ghana but in West Africa as a whole. He explained that “the newly developed cowpeas are also tolerant to drought, rust and viruses with early maturity and high yield traits. He indicated that, the newly developed cowpea would serve as vital genetic resource for further improvement of the crop in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in areas affected by the parasitic weed.

Prof. Asare said there were cost benefits which farmers would derive from cultivating the newly developed cowpeas because of their high yielding potential and adaptability to diverse ecological conditions especially in the dry savannah regions. Prof. Asare said the recommendation of the three candidate cowpeas for approval to be release as varieties to seed production companies and farmers was a great opportunity to improve the cowpea industry. He urged farmers to patronize the product when it was finally released to the market. He advised the youth to also venture into cowpea cultivation as a means of creating employment for them to earn a living. “We are grateful for what we have achieved together so far and we hope to do more to boost the cowpea industry,” he noted.

Appreciation to Partners

Prof. Asare thanked the NVRRC for endorsing three out of five candidates of cowpea that were presented for approval and subsequent release to farmers. “We have no iota of doubt concerning your excellent decisions, selections and recommendations that you have made to perfect the document processing in order to have our cowpea genotypes registered as varieties,” he expressed. He expressed appreciation to SARI and PGRRI for collaborating with UCC to achieve such a milestone adding that “SARI has been very generous by hosting our students for their research work”.

Solution to Striga Menace

Prof. Richard Akromah who led a team of the NVRRC to inspect the cowpea field at Bawku, said members of the committee were happy that a solution had been found to deal with the Striga menace which was causing huge losses to farmers in the northern sector of Ghana. “It’s been a problem, I have sent students here and I saw how they struggle with Striga so I am happy that materials are coming up,” he noted.

Prof. Akromah advised the researchers to have good fingerprint background on the newly developed cowpeas so that they could claim ownership to it. He reiterated the need for the researchers of the project to develop a user manual to serve as guide for farmers.

Cowpea Project

The cowpea project is an initiative by researchers from the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences with funding from International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, has advised the 2018/2019 fresh students that the achievement of academic excellence in UCC requires hard work, commitment and sacrifice.

Prof. Joseph Ampiah, told the fresh students to be mindful that they have entered another phase in life where there would be no control and guidance, therefore, their stay in the University would depend on the choices they make.

The Vice-Chancellor gave the advice at the Matriculation Ceremony to formally receive fresh students admitted to the 2018/2019 academic year.

Statistics

A total of 5,962 students were admitted to pursue various programmes in the University comprising 5, 266 undergraduates and 696 postgraduates. The number is made up of 3,076 male and 2,190 female for undergraduates and 447 male and 249 female for postgraduates respectively. In terms of colleges, the Vice-Chancellor said the admission figures were as follow; College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences1, 187, College of Humanities and Legal Studies 1,922, College of Health and Allied Sciences 838, College of Education Studies 1, 319.

The Vice-Chancellor said the number admitted for the 2018/2019 academic year was 14 per cent higher than that of the previous year.

UCC Provides Conducive Academic Environment

Prof. Ampiah congratulated the matriculants and assured them that they have chosen a very respected and noble institution. He informed them that UCC would continue to provide an environment that exposes students to an entertaining and a wide-range of learning experiences. “Our lecturers, scholars, and researchers are here not only to help you obtain that prestigious and enviable University of Cape Coast degree, but also to help expand your understanding of society and the world at large, he further assured.

Prof. Ampiah indicated that “in UCC we pride ourselves in not only training students in academic work, but also in character, so that upon graduation the student is fully ready to be a responsible citizen who will contribute to national development, in a patriotic and result-oriented manner”. He called on the matriculants to imbibe the virtues of self-discipline, self-care, good mode of dressing, fidelity to their studies and work, and general comportment, before they graduate from the University.

Rights and Responsibilities

On students’ rights and responsibilities, the Vice-Chancellor, told them that the University was a place where they would enjoy a lot of freedom, stressing that “but that freedom often comes with some corresponding obligations. Here your freedom ends where another person’s freedom begins. So, you must not only protect your rights privileges and freedom, you must also ensure that you do not trample on the rights, privileges, and freedom of others”.

Rules and Regulations of UCC

The Vice-Chancellor admonished the matriculants to observe the rules and regulations of the University which have been collated in the Students Handbook, Academic Programmes, Policies and Regulations and Brochure on Graduate Studies to make their stay on campus enjoyable.  “The University of Cape Coast has maintained and will continue to maintain a zero tolerance for all anti-social behaviours such as cultism, examination malpractice, hooliganism, and such other vices,” Prof. Ampiah warned. 

Prof. Ampiah added that, “The University has enjoyed relative peace over the years, and you are, therefore, advised to keep to the matriculation oath and stay away from activities that will constitute a threat to the peace of this noble institution of learning, as any manifestation of such ills shall be dealt with in accordance with the University rules and regulations”. He reaffirmed UCC’s commitment to helping the fresh students to achieve their dreams saying “Do your part by studying hard and adhering to the rules and regulations outlined in these books as well as other rules in the University”.

The Vice-Chancellor implored the matriculants to attend lectures regularly to and take their quizzes seriously as well as completing their take-home assignments on time. He advised them to form effective study groups and participate actively in classroom activities. “All of these contribute to your overall performance and if done well, the main end-of-semester examinations will be less strenuous and the urge to engage in examination malpractice will not be there,” he explained

On matters of security, the Vice-Chancellor entreated the students to be security conscious and adhere to traffic regulations on campus. He used the opportunity to appeal to the entire University Community to adhere to the new traffic regulations on campus stating “It is for the good of all of us”.