Remove K-Poly Rector Now - Yells POTAG

The Local branch of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) at the Kumasi Polytechnic has called for the immediate dismissal of the rector of the school, Dr. B. E. K. Prah, for financial malfeasance and gross abuse of power. The highly charged tutors have threatened to embark on an industrial sit down strike if the Polytechnic Council goes ahead to renew the term of the rector, which expires on December 3, 2009. The POTAG members said they can no longer contain the gross insubordination and high-handedness, which they claim has affected the progress of the institution. Addressing a press conference which was attended by all the members of the association on Thursday, the local chairman of POTAG, Mr. S. M. Frimpong, enumerated a number of financial misappropriations and administrative lapses which have necessitated the call for non-extension of his mandate. Dr. Prah, according to the POTAG chairman, is alleged to have breached the procurement act and awarded a contract on computer assembling worth US$19,000,000 to his nephew in the United States of America (USA), an allegation they claim, was being handled by the Serious Fraud Office, after it was exposed by The Chronicle on September 7th 2009 issue of the paper. The chairman also alleged that Dr. Prah used fictitious means to purchase an official land cruiser allocated to him by the school at a relatively cheaper cost, after the vehicle got involved in an accident while conveying his nephew to Accra, the cost of which was borne by the school. Mr. Frimpong further alleged that the rector has converted his three annual leave into cash, amounting to GH�11,000.00 in contravention of the section 31 of the Labour Act 65 of 2003. The POTAG chairman also alleged that Dr. Prah has refused to pay an outstanding balance of GH�70, 000, 00 on project supervision allowance for 150 academic staff, a case which he said is currently being pursued in court. The rector has also supervised the reduction of the percentage of the salary of some of the staff, even though public servants were given 15% salary increase across board in 2007. Defending the stance of the aggrieved teachers further, Mr. Frimpong alleged that Dr. Prah has failed to account for tens of thousands of money, being fees collected from students pursuing over 20 non-Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in the school, while failing to render account on GH�45.00 Information Communication Technology (ICT) fee charged each student per semester. Dr. Prah, according to POTAG, has persistently breached with impunity section 13 of the statutes of the school, which requires the rector to convene a meeting of the academic board twice a semester. He noted that the poor human relation of the rector and staff of the school has negatively impacted on the morale of the tutors, indicating that �Dr. Prah�s vindictiveness and victimization is killing staff initiatives�. Meanwhile, the embattled rector has parried the allegations by the POTAG members, describing them as an attempt to discredit his administration and image of the school. He said none of the allegations being levelled against him are true, stressing that at the appropriate time he would make his side of the issue duly known.