It all started on the 12th of March 2013 when Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, in the presence of the honorable Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Alhaji Amin Sulemani, the Director of Urban Roads and other dignitaries announced during the sod-cutting ceremony that inaugurate the rehabilitation of roads on Legon campus that an amount of GH¢ 7m loan is secured to fix the roads on campus.
And in order to be able to pay back the loan as well as the overall maintenance of it, toll booths will be constructed at various entrances of the University to collect tolls.
The Vice Chancellor followed this up in April 2013 when he visited the various halls and hostels on campus to interact with the whole student body. Among other issues discussed was the rationale behind the proposed toll.
The University even went ahead to issue a circular on the 15th of March 2013 to the general public informing them that a toll will be charged once the work is completed.
The SRC and the JCRCs as well as the general public were fully aware that tolls will be charged once the road project is completed. More importantly the then SRC President, Edmond Kombat, sat in the meeting where the decision was taken to contract the loan and fix the road and later charge tolls to pay it back.
So I ask, what is the SRC now headed by Eric Edem Agbana shouting about? Immediately after the university issued a statement signed by the Registrar, Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia, in which they spelled-out the various charges that will be charged starting 1st February 2014 with the employees of the University and their dependents the only exemptions, the SRC President ordered for an emergency SRC meeting after which the whole ‘’WE NO GO GREE” saga broke.
After series of meetings between the SRC and the Authorities of the University, the University agreed to give students a gigantic 75% discount which means the student will no longer be required to pay the initial GH¢ 400 a year but rather pay GH¢ 100.
Upon all these, Edem and his team is still not satisfied. He went from petitioning Parliament to the Ministry of Roads and Highways. And as typical of the African politician, the Road Minister who was present at the sod-cutting ceremony and said “this is a lauded idea to fix the roads and charge tolls so I will encourage other institutions to take a clue from it” now says the tolls will create inconvenience for road users so the ministry must see how best to absolve the cost. Please our money oooo, use it judiciously.
Did I hear honorable O. B. Amoah saying the toll is illegal just because it was not brought before Parliament? Also, two students, Evans Victor Apau and Musah Mustapha, are now is court praying the court to declare the decision by the University as unconstitutional? Hmmm we will see where this will land us all.
In my candid opinion, it is not wrong for the university to fix its roads and charge tolls moreover it is not the first of its kind around us. Edem Agbana and his team should give us a break and find more pressing issues affecting the ordinary student who voted for him and stop this misplaced agenda.
Waiting for the day the case will be thrown out of court like a piece of rag. After all, if a student can drive a range rover on campus, he or she must be able to pay GH¢100 toll. Besides that student would not be affected if he drives from the hostel to lecture halls unless he goes beyond the boundaries of the school.
If Edem and his troop care to know, most students are not even interested in this whole saga. If he doesn’t take time, the so call demonstration in progress would be attended by him and his team alone. A word for the wise.
