The Speaker of the General Assembly, Ramzy Ahmed Fuseini, has dismissed claims that the new audit board of the University of Ghana’s Student Representative Council (SRC) was approved on an unconstitutional basis. The claims were made by the General Assembly Representative for the Graduate Students Association of Ghana in the University of Ghana (GRASAG-UG), Joshua Nii Tackie Essel.
In an interview with Campus Exclusive, the GA Speaker confirmed that the new audit board followed the prescribed procedure for approval according to the constitution.
“The old audit board had five members. Three of the members are still part of the new audit board. Because if you are seeing the old one, five of them, and now the new one, you have three members from the old one are part of the new audit board [then] you don’t have a conversation about that. So I don’t believe that it’s right,” the Speaker said.
He refuted claims that the new audit board was unfit, pointing out that most of the members from the old board were reinstated into the new board.
He also explained how the voting procedure took place, stating that the new board had actually followed the prescribed procedure, unlike the old board.
“I believe that it is the new audit board that even followed the prescribed procedure because the old one wasn’t. So if he’s basing his facts on that, he should also check the old audit board how it was. You are making decisions, and then you have a lot of observers at the General Assembly. So when you put it on a voice count, an observer will also be part of the voting, which should not be the case. You have 100 General Assembly members, and you have 50 observers. Even if they are three, they can change the decision. So initially, when it was put onto a voice count, the observers added their voice. But when we went to the headcount, we check where you are presenting before you vote. So I believe that was a clear voting system that without any flounders and problems with it.”
The GA Speaker’s comments came after the GA Rep. had called for an interlocutory injunction on the newly constituted SRC audit board, claiming that the procedural motion used to approve the new board was unconstitutional and that the board did not meet the requirements for its formation.
The plaintiff had appealed to the court to place an interlocutory injunction on the new audit board. However, the Speaker confirmed that the voting system for the new audit board members was clear and unproblematic.
The court is yet to rule on the matter.
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Story by Deborah Yakohene | univers.ug.edu.gh
