Contractors working on Phases II, III, and IV at the proposed University for Local Governance and Development have assured the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development (MLGDRD), Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, of meeting a November deadline, with 60% of the work already completed.

This came to light when the minister visited the Ogbojo site of the proposed university, currently the Institute of Local Government Studies, on Friday, July 19, 2024.

Speaking to the media during his visit, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah indicated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had already given executive approval for the proposed university upon his request and that the process to get a bill laid and passed by parliament remains ongoing.

He stressed the significance the new university will play in boosting the country’s human resources in terms of governance and local development.

“Local governance employs about 40,000 people in our local government spaces. That tells you the strength of local governance and how essential it is in Ghana,” the minister said.

He expressed strong conviction about the university growing to attain its true mission as a premier institution for local governance on the continent.

“I will not be surprised that we get people coming from other neighbouring countries to enrol to better themselves in local governance,” he said.

He thus charged the contractors to stick to the project timelines and deliver value for money.

“It will be my greatest pleasure to commission this project, which is the first of its kind, and we are hoping that the contractors will meet it,” he stressed.

Registrar of the Institute of Local Governance, David Osei-Wusu, expressed optimism about the future of the institution, which is currently affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

“By the close of this year, we anticipate that when this full edifice is commissioned, the Institute will award its own diploma and degree certificates,” he added.

With an annual intake of some 800 students pursuing six main academic programmes, the registrar said the institution, which will gain autonomy upon becoming the University for Local Governance and Development, is projected to make some 3,000 annual admissions.

Some facilities being constructed as part of the ongoing expansion include 400-bed capacity hostels, a 1,200-capacity auditorium with a restaurant, lecture halls, changing rooms, a library, offices, a new administration block, and a renovation of the old administration block.

The project also includes some recreational facilities, including an astroturf.