Efo Qweku Apedzego writes;
Mr. President-elect, I greet you and hope further that my letter finds you in good health. It won’t be prudent if I don’t introduce myself. I am Emmanuel Apedzgo but a section of the student fraternity calls me Efo Streetlight. I am a student activist and a final year Medical Laboratory student of this very institution you’ll preside over its students front anytime soon. I hope you now have a clue that my letter is about activism. Yes! Activism. I am in a few paragraphs going to share with you the thoughts of the very students you are about serving.
First of all, let me start by saying that it was not curiosity that killed the goose who laid the golden egg, but an insatiable greed that devoured common sense.” This quote is by E.A. Bucchianeri, in a book Brushstrokes of a Gadfly.
Mr. President-elect, we were all delighted when your team issued out a communique for students who are willing to serve in your administration to apply for various positions. I was convinced that you are coming to help save the dying image of our SRC but with the current happenings, I’m perplexed and heartbroken that you are perpetuating such a great disrespect to our constitution which was used to elect you as our President.
Our SRC constitution mandates you as our President-elect to present your appointees to a committee constituted by the General Assembly concerning Article 4 of the Act of GA that speaks about the vetting of presidential appointees.
Mr. President-elect, it has come as a great shock to hear about the reappointment of Mr. Ebenezer Darko as the Chief Justice of our General Assembly. This makes us believe that all the constitutional breaches the Electoral Commission Chairman and the then and yet to be Chief Justices indulged themselves in was a masterminded plan for you to win the elections to ascend the presidential seat of the SRC. During the electoral process, the following were the activities the CJ involved himself knowing very well that Article 9, section B clause (ii) and (iv) mandate him to be the peacekeeper but ignored his duties for his interest;
- During the electoral processes, the CJ was part of the verification team but he deliberately allowed unqualified aspirants to sail through the system.
- He was part of the Electoral Commission’s vetting panel that connived to give you the lead slot in the vetting results
- He ignored all petitions written to him concerning the constitutional breaches by the Electoral Commissioner.
“Mostly the greedy rich are responsible for the poor’s poverty” – Mehmet Murat Ildan
This has made me believe the saying that “a corrupt system gives birth to a corrupt leader”. If indeed the system used to elect you were devoid of all these breaches, I do not see the need to reappoint the CJ again.
The following forms the basis for which myself and some section of the student populace that, the CJ cannot be reappointed again unless he resigns from this current office as the CJ subjected to the approval of the General Assembly according to Article 19 of the SRC Constitution:
Article 10, section b clause (vii) states that “shall in consultation with the Chief Justice, appoint a five-member to vet all presidential appointees before they are sworn in. where a person does not meet the vetting marks then the president shall make a new appointment”
Again, according to Article 4 of the Act of GA states the composition of the vetting committee as follows:
VETTING OF PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES
- Inconsistent with Article 10, Section B, Clause (vii) of the SRC constitution, the
- appointment of the committee shall be members of the General Assembly.
- The committee shall be composed of the Speaker, the Chief Justice and three (3)
- accredited members and be chaired by a ranking or a deputy Ranking Member.
Both Article 10 of SRC constitution and Article 4 of the Act of GA mandates the Chief Justice to be part of all the procedure in the vetting of new appointees. In our case, it is obvious the outgoing administration has finished paying the Chief Justice’s fees, accommodation as well as other benefits and that he wants to use this as an avenue to renew and further enjoy these benefits. A reason for which the Chief Justice has decided not to be part of the vetting committee to appear as an appointee to be vetted for. Frank Sonnenberg once said “Greedy people are never satisfied that they have enough. They’re like sharks that spend their entire life hunting and consuming. All the oceans in the world can’t satisfy these eating machines.”
If Mr. President elect, you can overlook all these constitutional breaches and reappoint the Chief Justice again as a “thank you party” for helping you win the election then he is no different from the greedy corrupt people who came to milk SRC.
Secondly, Article 26 clause (vi) states that “All standing committees shall hand over on the eleventh (11th) week except the SRC internal auditors, the Speaker, the Chief Clerk, the Chief Justice and judicial committee, the Stores Officer and the Treasurer.”. The clause mandates the Chief Justice here again to stay in office till the old General Assembly is dissolved and the new house takes over.
One may argue that, maybe, the CJ has resigned. But this is what the constitution states about resignation regarding Article 19 clause (i) and (ii) that;
- Any Executive Officer or member of the SRC may resign from his/her post or membership at any time and shall inform the General Assembly of the SRC, writing his/her decision week before the effective date of the resignation.
- When a member’s resignation is accepted by the General Assembly of the SRC, the member shall in twenty-four (24) hours hand over such items to the SRC.
So now the question is; has he resigned? NO, and the common logic is that you cannot resign from an office you are holding in an institution and reapply again for the same position you held or resigned from. It doesn’t make sense. This should tell the ordinary student how greedy and selfish the Chief Justice is. My political comrade Hon. Emmanuel Boakye-Yiadom, one of the outstanding General Assembly members usually say in his favorite quote by Charlie Chaplain that “…you only need power when you want to do something harmful. Other than that love is enough…”. This saying indeed tells that Mr. Ebenezer Darko is craning for power and that if there exists some sort of love in his heart for SRC, he will rather train someone for this office. Good leaders impact others. They replicate! That is a good name and it is better than riches.
Mr. President-elect, if you want your administration to be devoid of constitutional battles and heckling then it is better you reconsider your decision to reappoint Mr. Ebenezer Darko as the Chief Justice of your administration. Listen to the masses that gave you power for had I known is always at last
Your Lordship the Chief Justice, we appreciate your work and your willingness to work for the Council again but concerning the SRC Constitution, the Act of GA, morals, and principles, we humbly plead to decline the offer for the reappointment.
Proverb 22: 1 A good name is to be chosen rather than riches, loving favor than silver and gold!
Thank you
Long live KTU
Live KTU SRC
Contact
Facebook/ efo qweku apedzego
Email/ emmanuelapedzego@gmail.com
