Vice Chancellor Of UEW, Finance Officer Found Guilty Of Fraud

The High Court sitting in Winneba, has found the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Professor Mawutor Avoke, and the school’s Finance Officer, Dr. Theopholus Senyo Ackorlie, guilty of procurement and other financial irregularities.

The court subsequently ordered the retrieval of all monies paid to the contractors of the North Campus Road, Paa Badu Construction Ltd; and a forensic audit of the project.

It also awarded GHc 8,000 in damages against the University.

The University was dragged to Court by one Supi Kwayera for operating under what he argued was a defunct governing council.

He had also raised various allegations against the Management, including procurement and financial irregularities.

In the course of the suit, a new constituted Governing Council of the University asked its Vice Chancellor and four other top officials to step aside , after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation had been removed at night.

The school's council subsequently set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the case.

Unfair hearing
But a former President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, UTAG, Dr. Samuel Bekoe, has described the judgment as absurd.

Dr. Bekoe complained that the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer had not been given a fair hearing in the matter.

He argued that “the reliefs that were being sought by the plaintiffs on the procurement issues were all withdrawn, so if they were withdrawn, then it means there was no case on procurement issues before the court. So why would a judge be ruling on a case that was not before him?”

“… and if you are now also asking that forensic audit should be conducted, it means there is no evidence for the allegations made. So if there is no evidence for the allegations made, why would you now be passing judgement on people?”

Dr. Bekoe also noted that, the University, and not the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer, was dragged to court.

“Now if that was the case and you have not listened to their side, natural justice just shows that you don’t have to rule against the two because you never gave them the opportunity to respond to the allegations that were made against them.”

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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