Emmanuel Owusu Agyei Ampem writes: There should be no SRC elections

I am one of those who spoke against the double-track system of the University of Ghana. To some of us, we thought it was an idle decision of the University to hide behind the challenge of Accommodation that has bedeviled the University for some time now.

But in circumstances that are beyond our control in life, they say when you are presented with Lemons, you make lemonade out it. You don’t throw your hands in despair. Last night as I was making arrangements with my publisher for my upcoming book “Citizens Not Spectators, Selected Speeches of Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, foreword by Peter Mac Manu,” my very good friend Kafui, former Chief Justice of Legon wrote to me to go back and fix the UGSRC I left in good shape. Though I think at this moment in life, a final year student should be working on how to better use Excel, word, better communication Skills, and other simple Corporate skills because life outside the university is so different! Like My admirer, Donald J. Trump will put it (damm diffe-rent).

I have over this period not paid attention to happenings in the UGSRC because we all trying to find our feet in a Covid-19 period where hopes in economic development are blurry.

I have had friends asking me why the General Assembly is not working. I ask back, how should the General Assembly work when school is running a shift system? What about the third and second-year members of the Assembly. Can you constitute a double General Assembly for the two shifts? Or you want to have a level 100 & 400 General Assembly? What happens to the proposition of the Constitution? Why can’t Execom work when the General Assembly hasn’t been constituted with an elected Speaker? Isn’t it a form of Representation constitutionally?

The work of the General Assembly can equally be executed by the Execom since it hasn’t been constituted.

They ask again about the Roadmap of the SRC. What Road map?

How do you conduct a General Assembly when the only students on campus are first and fourth years. What about second and third years who are on vacation?

Aren’t you disfranchising them?

What happens to Article 25? Can’t the JCR Presidents so elected, appointed, or acting in their respective halls elect an acting SRC President, Secretary, and Treasurer as the constitution prescribes you to?

Can’t UGSRC channel the amount of money expected to be sent in a General election into the SRC Yi bi Boa Fund to help needy students on campus?

Are these prescriptions of the constitution democratic? Yes! It is because democracy is constitutionalism. So budget and all the activities of the SRC can be approved by the Execom as the Constitution says.

I think anyone who pushes for the constitution of the General Assembly hasn’t thought through this and just wants to emotionally argue for an election whiles elections cannot be conducted.

No one is born a leader or has SRC president as his or her birthright.

I think we all should allow the constitution to work as we do deem.

Let us proceed in integrity as our noble institution teaches and support our institutions to work.

If we do this, then, we are growing our institutions rather than always attacking institutions or leaders because we are not the ones in charge. Possibly you may have done worst when selected to lead in that space.

I believe there’s more to life than criticizing and always attacking UGSRC.

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Source: Emmanuel Owusu Agyei Ampem
Former General Assembly Speaker
University of Ghana.