Three Sunyani-based development associations have petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over โcertain infractions and discriminatory actsโ on the recent appointment of Mr Sylvester Donrkor, new Principal of the Berekum College Education in the Bono Region.
The leadership of the associations, the Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA), Sunyani for Development (SFD), and Bonoman Institute (BI), said they were worried about โperceived and apparent corruption and discriminatory behaviours in the entire appointment process.โ
They, therefore, called on the CHRAJ to expedite action to investigate the Collegeโs Governing Council in the appointment processes โfor the right thing to be doneโ.
Addressing a news conference in Sunyani, Mr. Atta Akoto Senior, the President of SYDA, said the associations suspected โsomething fishyโ in the appointment process which led to the โdiscrimination and unfair treatment against Dr. Mrs. Vida Korang, one of the applicants and a Senior Lecturer at the Catholic University of Ghanaโ, contrary to provisions in Articles 17 and 296 of the 1992 constitution.
โThe alleged discrimination against Dr. Korang is affront to the fairness and a heavy dent on the nationโs quest to achieve the Gender Equality (goal five) and Inequality (goal 10) of the Sustainable Development Goals, he said.
A copy of the petition made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) claimed the actions of the Search Committee further breached some relevant provisions of the Ghanaโs 1992 Fourth Republican constitution in pursuant to Article 17(1, 2, 3,) and portions of Article 296.
Copies of the petition jointly signed by Messrs. Atta Akoto Senior, Nana Sakyi Akomea, the Secretary, SYDA and Ansu Gyeabour, Public Relations Officer of the BI were delivered to the Collegeโs Governing Council, the Chief Justice, Women Caucus in Parliament, Bono Regional House of Chiefs and the National Investigations Bureau.
It explained โsomewhere December 2022, the position of the Principal became vacant and the college through its constituted Search Committee advertised the vacant position for qualified applicants.โ
The petition said, โit is on record that, at the end of the interview process, the Search Committee approved and presented two of the applicants, Dr. Korang and Mr Sylvester Donkor and these are copious statements from the Council’s Chairman, Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, a former Minister of Stateโ.
โAccording to our checks, Dr. Korang, the only female had the highest score of 71 marks as compared to the 70 marks scored by Mr Donkor, and we learnt the latter was chosen on the grounds that Dr. Korang is coming from a private university and that it would be difficult to mechanize her onto the Controller and Accountant Generalโs payroll system,โ it added.
โIt is also unfortunate to gather that the Councilโs decision was apparently based on subjective testโ, the petition added, and therefore called on the CHRAJ and other relevant state and non-state institutions to intervene.
โWe, therefore, consider this act as discriminatory, unfair treatment, selective administrative injustice, inequitable, abuse of power, inconsistent and in contravention to the basic tenet of the laws of Ghana,โ the petition stated.
GNA