The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) is in danger of losing millions of Ghana Cedis as interest on debt owed Koans Building Solutions after the current Rector and Council Chair decided not to honour their side of a bargain, despite express orders from a High Court.
Per available court documents and other agreements between both GIMPA and the real estate firm, the erstwhile leadership of the institution purchased a thousand acre plot of land from Koans Building Solutions to be paid over a period of six years. The total cost of the over 4000 plots of land is Twenty Four Million Ghana Cedis (GHc 24m).
In said the agreement, GIMPA is expected to pay Two Million cedis in the months of March and September over the agreed six (6) year period.
Investigations however reveal, the current Rector, Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, and the Council Chairman, Nana Kofi Asante Bediatuo, decided to halt payment starting from March 2018, a move opposed by other leadership wings of the institution who ascribed to the vision of expanding the institution.
Having exhausted all avenues to retrieve the money for the month of March and sensing foul play, Koans Building Solution proceeded to Court to seek judgement to compel the defaulting party to pay up.
On the 13 of June, 2018, Justice of the High Court, Koforidua, His Lordship Mac Kogyapwah gave judgement in favour of the developer, compelling GIMPA to pay the March instalment and additional One Hundred and Eighty Ghana Cedis representing interest accrued over the period of three months non-payment.
"Obstinate and Uncooperative"
In spite of the High Court's decision, the Rector, who is the institution's first Professor of Law and Council Chair, remain defiant.
A section of students and other wings of the school’s management are at a loss as to why the Rector will take a decision that will put needless financial burden on the institution.
They also fear that further delay can lead to the institution losing the land altogether.
Background
In the year 2014, the management of GIMPA in response to the oversubscription of their undergrad programs and the extra burden placed on the current campus, due to huge student population, decided to set up a dedicated campus for undergraduate programs so that the main GIMPA Campus can be used for management level programs.
With the new arrangement, GIMPA is most likely to be one of the biggest institution for undergraduate programs in the country having carved the niche for itself as the foremost and most credible institution for public administration and management programs over the years.
However, the eagerness of the current leadership of the institution to undo every good deed of the previous one is said to have brought the institution to stagnation and to the frustration of the students.
Checks indicates that most of the projects embarked on by the previous Administration of the institution have been abandoned.
With an average of Ninety Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc 90,000) worth of interest added to the debt every week, the institution is likely to cough up about a million Ghana Cedis in the next ten months if the court's directive is not heeded.
Efforts to reach both parties for a response has proven futile so far.
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