THE Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) face a possible closure following a notice of being evicted from the temporary structure that houses the institute at the old ministries near the passport office.
The school’s permanent location at Batsoona on the Spintex road has also been at the mercy of encroachers who have undertaken various construction works on the entire 158.184 acres of land that houses an abandoned seven storey office accommodation and lecture theatres leaving only the skeletal administration block in the middle.
This development the school’s board and management believes would go to delay a proposed degree programme which is intended to be rolled out by the institute in September this year.
The land which covers an area of about 63.27 hectors from the community 18 junction through the Tema Trade Fair (TEXPO) along the stretch have seen massive upsurge of office complexes and private homes that adorn the route.
A visit to the site revealed several structures that houses homes while new buildings were also seen springing up on the school's compound, while construction works on auditoriums to house worshippers of the Baptist Methodist Church, Miracle Life Gospel Church and the Victory Bible Church were significantly underway.
Director of the Institute, Dr Martin Yao Zame who took members of the school’s board on a tour of the site revealed the school may be forced to close down temporarily while arrangements are made for a possible relocation to the new site.
He told the board, the 158.184 acre land which was acquired through an executive instrument, (EI 112) by the government in 1974 for the construction of a Sub-Regional Management Development and Productivity Institute, following the formation of ECOWAS in 1975 has over the years not received any attention from successive governments.
Dr Zame said, construction works on the seven storey block which commenced in 1975 by the defunct State Construction Corporation (SCC) was abandoned in 1981 owing to resource constraints as a result of a decline in the economy due to the coup in that year.
According to the director, government in 1998 resumed funding on the building in addition to a three storey hostel facility to accommodate students of which an amount of GHC120, 000 was spent on the abandoned structure.
‘This project again came to a standstill in 2001, following a change in government leading to massive encroachment at the site owing to neglect by the government’, he lament.
According to Dr Zame, the institute initiated several court actions against two major encroachers, namely Esther Quao Momo and Elizabeth Sarpong, however a sudden transfer of the judge sitting on the case as well as a legalisation of their activities by former Attorney General, Nii Ayikwei Otoo led to a demise of the case and the subsequent upsurge of buildings on the school compound.
Board chair, Mr James Creppy regretted, past governments negation to protect the land from such activities in the past has led to the current challenges facing the institute.
He said government in 1975 paid compensations to eight out of the nine claimants to the land leaving out the then Nungua Mantse, Nii Odai Ayiku IV, who was claiming for the Nungua Stool but was in exile at the time payment was effected for the compensational packages.
‘Our visit to this new site was to establish areas where the school’s assets are located as well as get a first hand information on the situations pertaining on the ground’, Mr Creppy said.
He assured a stakeholders meeting would be conveyed immediately to access the situation.
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