University of Ghana calls for support for access policy

Daily Graphic / Ghana Opinion Mar - 21 - 2014 , 07:39

Authorities of the University of Ghana, Legon, have called for support, not animosity, from its stakeholders in the current brouhaha over the decision to restrict access to the campus.

They said the university was undergoing significant transformation to make it a better place befitting its status as the nation’s premier university.

“This calls for support from the government, Parliament, the press and the public and not animosity and prioritisation of only the convenience of commuters who have access to university-provided alternative routes,” they said in a letter issued to answer the queries raised by the Ministry of Education on why the university had restricted access to some of its roads.

The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, last Tuesday gave authorities of the university three days to explain the circumstances under which they were preventing some motorists from entering the university.

The restrictions have triggered public disaffection but the university has appealed for greater understanding of the actions it has taken.

In the letter addressed to the Ministry of Education and signed by Professor Justice Kofi Date-Bah, the Chairman of the University Council, the university authorities explained that they had the responsibility to protect work, staff, local and foreign students at the university.

It said the right of the university community to protection was not less important than that of any other persons and that the responsibility of the authorities was to protect the assets of the university, as required by law.

“It will, therefore, be negligent on the part of council and management not to take any actions as university assets deteriorate, lives are placed in danger and the work and integrity of the campus as a suitable learning environment are threatened,” it noted.

History of Restricted Access

The statement noted that the university had traditionally maintained a system of restricted access to its Legon campus and, indeed, all of its campuses.

That, it said, had come in the form of motorists being asked to use specific roads for entry, stressing that “in the past, security personnel also asked pedestrians for the purpose of visiting the campus”.

It said that was easily enforceable when the university had only one main access point at the front of the campus and another minor access point on the road to Achimota.

The letter explained that the road to Achimota was constructed in order to create access for staff staying at Achimota School and its use had always been restricted.

“With time, as the community around Legon has grown in size, the use of Legon roads has also increased significantly. The growth created the situation where motorists using roads with restricted access simply used any means possible to gain unauthorised access, including creating new roads through the bushes. The situation became most acute during the construction of the N1 Highway and the rehabilitation of the Madina-Accra road over the last five years,” it noted.

New Roads

It explained that during the construction of those roads, the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Department of Urban Roads approached the university about the need to allow general access to the university's major roads on a temporary basis.

It said the university was also persuaded to provide land along its boundaries for the construction of a bypass that would take away the traffic that would otherwise have poured into the campus.

“That was how the Legon Bypass or the Boundary Road between Legon and GIMPA was constructed. Similarly, that was how the road from the Gulf House to the Boundary Road came into being,” it explained.

The letter said the expectation of the university was always that with the completion of those roads, the campus through-traffic would be reduced to a bearable minimum, as was appropriate for a campus of more than 30,000 students.

Unfortunately, it said, the expected shift never materialised, simply because motorists had found it convenient to drive through the campus.

It said the current use of Legon roads as a public thoroughfare generated significant congestion and anxiety among the mainly pedestrian population.

“An average of 16,000 vehicles drive through the campus every day with no business on the campus. Commercial vehicles passing through the campus show extremely little regard for traffic regulations and for the safety of persons. Drivers on the newly constructed Annie Jiagge Road Extension often drive at top speed, thereby endangering the lives of our students and staff,” it stressed.

The letter said vehicles trying to avoid traffic on the main routes had resorted to driving through the residential areas such as Little Legon, and academic areas such as around the N Block, saying the situation did not promote the serenity required for serious academic work.

“It is a danger to life and property on the campus,” it stated.

Difficulties

It said in addition to the difficulties created, the roads experienced acute deterioration as a result of heavy traffic.

It explained that various efforts to obtain budgetary support for the maintenance of roads failed, while assistance promised by the Ministry of Roads and Highways never materialised.

According to the letter, it was for those reasons that the university took a facility of GH¢8 million to repair its roads.

“The University Council, in approving the loan facility, recognised the fact that the loan would be repaid by levying a charge on the users of the road. This was rightly seen as both a lawful and legitimate proposition. The user charges were also expected to lead to a decongestion of the roads by inducing a change in the behaviour of motorists and generate revenue for the future maintenance of Legon roads,” it said.

It said the user charges were suspended on February 22, 2014, following the intervention of the government with a promise to take over the entire loan.

Current Policy

The letter noted that following the suspension of the application of user charges, traffic volumes which had declined by 50 per cent jumped again to pre-user charge levels, stressing, “There is no doubt about the fact that the user charges were extremely useful in keeping traffic down.”

Petition

It said members of the university community petitioned management by emails on the need to place new restrictions on the entry of vehicles into the campus following the new increase in traffic after the suspension of user charges.

That, it said, led to discussions at a meeting of the Business and Executive Committee on February 26, 2014 and a proposal to return to a policy of restricting access through the use of stickers distributed to selected persons after being processed.

“This policy was approved by the council of the university on February 27, 2014. It is important to emphasise the fact that this was simply a return to an old practice. The policy statement on vehicle entry restrictions was communicated to the Minister of Roads and Highways and the Chief of Staff on February 28, 2014 by the university,” it stated.

Implementation of Policy of Restricted Access

It said the policy statement on restricted access was released to the public on February 27, 2014 in which it was stated that implementation would begin on March 15, 2014, 17 clear days after it had been issued.

“The statement was widely circulated in the print media, through radio announcements and by electronic dissemination. The university also caused to be printed thousands of flyers that were distributed to motorists who used the Legon roads regularly,” it said.

“Large visible banners were hung at the various entry points with the inscription: ‘Effective 15th March 2014, NO STICKER, NO ENTRY, NO EXIT’. The university also developed a video clip to explain the rationale behind the exercise, and this was telecast on GTV at prime time on Thursday, March 13, 2014 as a public education exercise, hence the likelihood that any motorist using the road was unaware of the new requirement was certainly minimal,” it said.

Current Situation at Entry Points

The statement said the university had entered into agreements with duly registered commercial drivers on how they might obtain stickers in order to be authorised to use restricted entry points.

“The university is mobilising buses for its shuttle service and this is working well. The procedure to acquire stickers has been made a lot easier and faster. It is the expectation of the university that, in the absence of any unforeseen interventions, the situation would remain normal for the conduct of regular university business,” it concluded.