UG disbands $160m judgement debt report

Management of the University of Ghana has disbanded reports that it has been slapped with $160million dollar judgment debt at an International Court, for unreasonably terminating a contract which started in 2014 during the tenure of the former Vice Chancellor Professor Ernest Ayittey.

In a statement, the management of the University said, the case has not been determined hence stakeholders should ignore “social media reports.” “The Africa Integras Project, including matters relating to the substantive and procedural merits of the contract, has not been determined by an arbitrator,” the University’s statement said.

“Management of the University therefore urges calm and assures all stakeholders that it is taking all necessary and reasonable steps to secure the best interest and future of the University of Ghana,” it added.

Earlier, it had emerged that, the University had lost a case in London and had been ordered to pay a judgment debt of $160million to the project developers– Africa Integras Project.

Earlier in 2015, the University confirmed at a ceremony, that the University had received final funding approvals to proceed on its anticipated Public Private Partnership (PPP) investment with Africa Integras to construct four new academic buildings and 1,000 student hostel beds on the Legon campus.

It involved the construction of an expanded facility for the College of Humanities, a new College of Education, a new dedicated facility for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and the Institute of Technology and Applied Science, as well as a new facility for the College of Health Sciences to be located near the new teaching hospital on campus.

The project also involved 1,000 new students’ hostel beds, to be divided between undergraduate and graduate students mostly to serve the College of Health Sciences. The project, which was originally signed in July, 2014 had now reached the material milestone of funding approvals, represents the largest single expansion of infrastructure at the University of Ghana in the 66-year history of the university The project was structured as a 25-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract.

But after the change of leadership in 2016, the new University council raised questions about the deal, particularly relating to the overall cost to the University.

However, Prof. Aryeetey insisted the processes leading up to the signing of the agreement with Integras were transparent, with all relevant stakeholders being kept informed of all developments. “There is no scandal at all in relation to the $64.4 million contract. Africa Integras signed an agreement that they were supposed to spend that money. As far as I know, by the time the project stopped, they had spent about $28 million. How does a phony company come and spend $28 million? You can see the buildings coming up and yet it has been written that I have signed an agreement with a phony company. We haven’t spent any money ourselves, it’s the ‘phony’ company that’s spending the money; how does a phony company put up buildings?,” Professor Aryeetey asked. The Arbitrator, however, did not accept the UG argument that the Concession Agreement signed by the two parties was not enforceable.

University of Ghana had sought to present the agreement as not being enforceable, claiming that its own procedures followed in preparing the Concession Agreement were flawed and did not follow due process. The Arbitrator found nothing wrong with the process followed in preparing the Concession Agreement.