Re-Concerned UEW Staff Writes: Criminal Activities Under The Guise Of  Reconciliation At UEW 

1. The Management of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), has noticed with concern the malicious publication on the above subject on several online portals. Management wishes to state without equivocation that the said  publications are totally false. We, herein issue a strong warning to the media  houses carrying these falsehoods to retract and apologise for the said  publications or face legal action. 
2. We are certain that the revelation by our administration that some top officers in the erstwhile administration had embezzled some thirty-one million ( GHS 31,000,000), for which we have set up a Committee to look into, and the  subsequent action to notify the professional bodies they belong to, has  occasioned this diversionary tactic. We are committed to getting to the  bottom of this issue, and no amount of shenanigans will deter us from doing  so. These same tactics were deployed to oust the previous Prof. Avoke  administration and now that they have been reinstated they are at it again. 
3. The Avoke administration, before it was rudely ousted out of office left a positive balance of about GHS154million but returned to meet a negative or overdrawn balance of GHS40,053,405.57. As of October, 2021, the university  could not pay any of its bills, which the then Management had communicated  to Deans and Directors that bill payment would resume in January, 2022,  when students start paying fees. We have subsequently managed to bring the  negative or overdrawn balance to GHS10,722,018.32 as of 31st December,  2022. In addition, payroll deductions, which were in arrears for eight months  when the Avoke administration returned, have now been brought down to five  months’ worth of arrears. 
4. If anyone has evidence that an amount of GHS7.6 million was shared recently at CODeL, let him or her bring forth the evidence. Does the university even have this much money in its account in the first place, much less share it? It is  rather the previous administration that has been cited for such infractions. The  records on how such amounts were squandered from CODeL accounts by the  previous administration are available for scrutiny, the cheque numbers and  amounts paid into individual accounts of the officers concerned are all  available. 
5. The assertion that the proper procedures for the appointment of staff have been disregarded in an effort to retaliate against staff who are perceived as being critical of the Avoke administration is a part of a grand plot to discredit  this administration and make it unpopular. This administration has and continue to make appointments with the highest respect for due process.

6. ‘Advertising vacant positions internally has been used severally in the past. If we had financial clearance to make fresh appointments, it should have been in the national newspapers. We don’t have financial clearance to recruit hence  the internal appointments which is open to all qualified employees of UEW.  Has any internal advertisement been questioned in the past? What is different  about this one? 
7. The Acting Principal of the College of Distance and e-Learning (CODEL), is an Associate Professor, and as such, qualifies to hold his position and attend Appointments and Promotions Board meetings. Dr. Mrs. Edinam Avoke,  referenced in the said publications, is a Senior Lecturer with a PhD who has  worked at the university for several years and is also duly qualified to hold her  position as the Dean of Student Affairs, as are all other officers who have  been duly appointed to their positions. We do not see the fuse with these  appointments. 
8. On the former Head of Legal Services, there is not much we can say since he is already in court. It is safe to say that his contract had expired. He subsequently wrote to the Registrar for the renewal of the contract, but he  was informed that there had been restructuring in his outfit, whereupon the  outfit had been placed under the Vice-Chancellor (VC) and should reroute his  letter of renewal to the VC, which he refused to do. How could Prof. Avoke  and Dr. Ackorlie just instruct payroll to delete someone’s name from the  payroll? 
9. Several people, including lecturers, are offered part-time appointments at the university. By convention, none of them is interviewed. However, post retirement contracts now require prior approval from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and are not the sole prerogative of the Vice Chancellor. Even so, every one who applied for post-retirement contract has  been duly appointed.
10. It is a well-documented fact that the previous administration failed to make  students’ records available to them for four years, a reason for which students  went on demonstration last year. The current administration has taken the  necessary steps to correct the anomaly. Why is the pot calling the kettle  black?
11. Indeed, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana  Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Ministry of Education will be  furnished with the needed information and they are free to carry out their independent investigations.
12. The Avoke administration deserve commendations for the many things it has  achieved so far: 

1. a more united and reconciled university
2. resumption of work on most abandoned projects

iii. payment of many claims and bills in arrears 

1. causing independent investigations into misuse of over GHS31 million of university funds
2. renegotiated over-priced book printing contract and saved over GHS1.2 million for the university to buy an off-set printing machine. vi. renegotiated over-priced furniture contract and saved over GHS2.9 million to start the UEW Business School Project. 

Thank you. 

Signed 

Mrs. Wilhemina Tete-Mensah, 

Ag. Registrar