Don’t compromise on corruption — Daasebre Oti Boateng
The Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre (Prof) Oti Boateng, has called on the country’s leadership to, on no account, compromise on corruption, which he described as “a cancer that is killing the nation”.
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He stated that it was time politicians, religious and traditional leaders, professionals and Ghanaians in general stood up against corruption for the nation to experience meaningful progress.
“We can collectively and individually tackle corruption if we price honour and virtue above self-aggrandisement in our body politic,” Daasebre Oti Boateng stated.
He was speaking at the 11th matriculation and 12th graduation ceremony of the All Nations University College (ANUC) in Koforidua recently.
At event, held on the theme, “Advancing technology and revitalising communities: The role of higher education”, 1,066 students were matriculated.
Besides, 130 graduates of the ANUC School of Business, 111 from the School of Engineering and four from the School of Humanities and Sciences, as well as the first batch of Oil and Gas students, also graduated.
The Omanhene, who is also the Chancellor of the ANUC, stated that the pursuit of integrity in the country’s body politic had become a worry to many well-meaning Ghanaians.
“We are now faced with the challenge of corruption in our body politic and it is this integrity which will collectively and individually act as an effective attenuator of the cancer of corruption.
An international consultant, Dr S. K. Asante, who was the guest speaker, called on the government to address the need for technically competent business negotiators in the country.
In his view, it was time the government invested the required resources in training negotiators who would negotiate for better contractual agreements with transnational and international bodies.
The Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof W. O. Ellis, was happy that the ANUC was able to organise two graduation ceremonies in a year for its graduating students.
“Elsewhere, students have to wait for long periods before they are awarded their certificates,” he stated, and hoped that other affiliate institutions would “emulate this feat”.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Ms Helen A. Ntoso, stated that the government was highly concerned about the challenges of private universities and had, therefore, tasked the GETFund to come up with modalities to support those institutions.
She praised the management of the ANUC for its commitment to “bring prestige, honour and great opportunities” to the New Juaben municipality and the country as a whole.
Earlier, the President of the ANUC, Dr Samuel. H. Donkor, had stated that the university, the first tertiary institution in the country to be accredited to offer Oil and Gas programme, was excited to graduate its first batch of students who pursued the a four-year Oil and Gas programme.
“We are proud that these graduates are equipped with the latest trends in Oil and Gas exploration, drilling and refining methods,” he said.
According to him, the university continued to gain national and international recognition for its innovative programmes which won it a number of awards between December 2012 and December 2013.
He mentioned some of the awards as the Most Innovative University, 2013; Private University of the Year Award in Ghana 2013; the Most Prestigious University of the Year Award in Ghana 2013 and the yet-to-be-received Best Regional University by Oxford this month.