TEIN demands legal backing

Dr. David Yaoga Sunu is the Greater Accra Regional president of TEIN.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday November 11, 2010
THE CONTROVERSIAL workshop organized by the Tertiary Educational Institutions Network (TEIN) that sparked a war of words in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC)has issued a communiqué asking the party leadership to give them legal backing in the NDC constitution without delay.

At the end of the workshop themed: “Resources untapped; harnessing the full potentials of TEIN,” participants issued a communiqué saying “as a matter of urgency, due legal recognition must be granted the Tertiary Educational Institutions Network (TEIN) as far as the NDC constitution is concerned.”

It was at this workshop held on Tuesday that Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah, a first National Vice Chairman of the NDC accused President John Evan Atta Mills of neglecting Ex-President JJ Rawlings, founder of the party and not making any effort to resettle him since his house was gutted by fire on Valentine’s Day.

Dr. Spio-Garbrah who is currently the Chief Executive of Commonwealth
Telecommunication Organization (CTO) in London said at the workshop that many believe was sponsored by the Rawlings faction with NDC matriarch, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings in attendance, that he does not understand why government was giving the former president a raw deal in spite of his role as party founder.

Spio-Garbrah noted the state’s inability to resettle Rawlings had given the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) the chance to ridicule the government.

“I understand that President Rawlings cannot award contracts today and that because he doesn’t make appointments anymore he is not relevant and of no value to the party. Otherwise it is not possible that even disaster victims far away in Haiti can receive a donation of $3million but when a disaster befalls the founder of the party and former President of the Republic of Ghana who by the Constitution is required to be given official accommodation, he does not have official accommodation till today.

And yet there are over one thousand government bungalows in Accra and I personally have identified some of them and have recommended it to the people concerned.”

“The NPP don’t take us serious because they see that we are unable to house our own father and are aware that the party is not strong enough to face them in the 2012 election,” he said.

The participants said the social democratic ideals and historical background of the NDC makes it the most ideal party which the youth of this country must join and work for and called for regular budgetary support for TEIN at all levels.

They noted the appointment of regional TEIN coordinators must cease immediately and that TEINs must be established at all regional levels across the country with elected executives. Participants added that a national TEIN must be established as the umbrella body for all TEINs with elected national executives.

“As a matter of urgency, a copy of the amendments to the party’s constitution adopted at the 2010 National Congress must be provided to TEIN through the Greater Accra Regional TEIN and all requests in the document of ‘TEIN Proposals’ must be provided for TEIN.”

The meeting was organized by Dr. David Yaoga Sunu, President of Greater Accra TEIN.