Video: Attempts to destroy my reputation unfair - Prof. Aryeetey

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana has dismissed allegations that he signed a bad deal when he allegedly committed the university to pay over $250 million for a $64 million loan.

Professor Ernest Aryeetey said he has struggled over the past year to get the university community to appreciate the processes he went through to establish some projects.

He feels hard done by as his attempts to explain issues to members of the university community hit a roadblock, because his email was blocked.

“My email to the university community was blocked so I had to find other ways to get my voice heard...it is not fair,” he told Ghanaweb in an interview.

In 2015, the University under the leadership of Prof. Aryeetey entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Africa Integras.

This agreement was to invest $64 million in the construction of 1,000 new students’ hostel beds for undergraduate and post-graduate students on the Legon campus.

The said project was structured as a 25-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract.

However, there were reports that the University signed the agreement without doing due diligence.

The project is currently on hold with claims by the Education Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh the University risks being privatized if it fails to pay $10 million to Africa Integras every year for a period of 25 years.

Professor Aryeetey has however, been defending his actions, requesting that an independent body is set up to investigate all contract and projects during his tenure.

He says the current brouhaha is adversely affecting his reputation – a situation he believes is deliberate.

“When I was about to retire, I was looking forward to being able to write my books, do my research, travel around the world… I didn’t think that I would be spending the first year of my retirement fighting to salvage my reputation.

“I don’t enjoy talking about the University of Ghana like this but I’ve reached the point where it’s my reputation,” he said.

“Somebody is destroying you and you’re held back in terms of how far you can go to defend yourself. You don’t want to sound negative about the institution that you used to run,” he added.

Watch the video below:

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