Ebola scare to affect revenue generation at Armed Forces Staff College
The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) is likely to lose $300,000 in fees from foreign students as a result of their fear of contracting the Ebola virus.
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Already the college has had to postpone its re-opening because of the outbreak of the Ebola virus in some West African countries.
Foreign students form one-third of the college’s population and as a result of the Ebola virus, the managers of the college fear that students from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso may not come at all this year when it re-opens on September 5, 2014.
The General Co-ordinator of the GAFCSC, Colonel Michael Ayisi Amoah, expressed the concern when the Minister of Defence, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, paid a familiarisation visit to the college on Thursday.
According to Colonel Amoah, their main source of internally generated fund is the fees of foreign students and the college is likely to face dire financial problems if the students fail to report to school.
He said because of the disease, there was also the fear that students from East and South Africa may also decide not to come this year.
“This may translate into an imminent closure of the college if funds are not sourced from elsewhere,” Colonel Amoah stated.
The GAFCSC, formerly known as the National War College, was established in October 1963 to enhance the leadership, analytical and communication skills of middle and senior military officers from Ghana and 11 African nations to perform command and staff functions.
Dr Kunbour, accompanied by his Deputy, Mr Alex Segbefia, also visited the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPTC) and the Military Academy Training School (MATS) at Nungua in Accra.
The tour was to allow the ministers to acquaint themselves with the challenges facing the three security institutions and how best to address them.
Declining budgetary support
Col Amoah said the GAFCSC obtained a large amount of its internally generated fund from fees from foreign students, non-sponsored participants of modular courses, sponsored programmes received from the ECOWAS, European Union and African Union.
“We also obtain sponsorship from some modules and packages from the UK Government for specific projects, as well as donations from local corporate entities,” he said.
College’s prestige at stake
According to him, the college’s budgetary requirement for 2014 is GH¢4 million but only GH¢229, 000 has been approved.
He said the college received occasional assistance from local and foreign benefactors but the support was irregular and usually targeted specific activities.
Besides, he said the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) allocation to the school for 2013 was GH¢1.8 million but only GH¢680,000 was received.
Challenges
Col Amoah stated that the current salary levels paid the staff of the college did not reflect their qualifications, saying the issue had been put before the Fair Wages Commission.
“The long delay in resolving the discrepancy has resulted in morale problems, resignations and threats of further resignation by core academic staff,” he said.
He added, “This will mean the withdrawal of programmes accredited by the National Accreditation Board.”
He also identified the poor state of infrastructure such as students’ accommodation and inadequate quality and quantity of ration supplied from Base Supply Depot as some of the challenges facing the college.
Encroachment
At the MATS, the Commandant of the college, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Akoto Bonsu, mentioned encroachment on the college’s land as a major challenge, and appealed to the government to help fence the institution.
He also identified lack of funds for the rehabilitation of the cadet mess, an overhead water tank and lecture halls as other challenges.
At the KAIPTC, the Commandant, Major General Obed Ackwah, said the institution received bulk of its funds from its donor partners for its operations.