Parliament to examine Volta University Bill

The University of Health and Allied Sciences Bill, which will set out a legislative framework for the running of the soon-to-be established institution of higher learning in the Volta Region, is on its way to Parliament. The House reconvenes on August 22 this year to consider outstanding businesses before MPs. The Bill has left the Attorney General’s Department and is at the Assembly Press to be gazetted, after which the Ministry of Education will forward it to Parliament for debate and subsequent approval. Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka, who disclosed this in an interview with Citi FM Friday said the House is also expecting the bill on the University of Energy and Natural Resources Bill, to be sited in the Brong Ahafo region. He explained that the passage of the two bills will provide the legal framework for any future budgetary allocations to pay for construction works to begin, as well as paying for the administrative and other staff who will work on the establishment of the universities. Hon. Avoka rejected the notion that the leadership of the Majority in Parliament was now bringing the two bills to the House in response to recent criticisms especially by some citizens of the Volta Region, who demonstrated last week about delays in the construction of the University of Allied Sciences. “That would be unfortunate if critics would want to associate the taking of this bill with the concerns expressed by the distinguished chief (Togbui Gabusu VI, Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area in the Volta region). This bill has been in the pipeline for a long time now. “You appreciate that this is a new institution, it’s a very big institution and therefore the Ministry of Education has been having stakeholder discussions as to how to bring a bill that will address some of the issues and that will eliminate some of the mistakes that we might have had in the past particularly in establishing University for Development Studies (UDS) etc. “So it is a normal routine that we are doing, and not because of the concerns expressed by the chief.”