A document currently in possession of TODAY offers indication that the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) is being run by a management team members, whose ages range from 60 to 73 years.
Aside from that fact, the document also talks about how the retired staff members in question have accumulated huge number of annual leave days before their retirement. This means that most of them for a longer period have not been taking their annual leave.
The document indicates that the officers claim that they do not have any competent person/s to act in their position if they should take their annual leave.
That scenario, according to the document, has resulted in disillusionment among many well qualified staff members, mainly lecturers, who out of frustration, have resigned.
The Rector, Mr Martin Lo, the document states, is over 70 years old with only six months certificate training in radio and television.
The oldest member of the group, according to the document, is 73 year old Mr. T.T. Glover, the Director of Technical Division of NAFTI, who also has a City and Guilds Intermediate Certificate.
The Assistant Director of the Technical outfit of the institute, Mr. Isaac Amissah and the Director of Finance Mr. Moses Quaye are 64 years 10 months and 60 years 8 months respectively. Mr. Amissah’s highest educational qualification is City and Guilds Certificate with Mr. Moses Quaye having a Diploma in Accounting.
In the case of Mr. Lo, the paper gathered from the report that although he was expected to have retired at 60, he has been at post for more than 10 years with Mr. T.T. Glover’s years at post after retirement being more than 13 years.
Mr. Seth Yeboah and Moses Quaye have both been at post for more than 4 years and 8months respectively even though their retirements are long overdue.
The document was prepared by Mr. David Kwabena Osei, a lecturer of the Institute and presented to Prof. Anyidohoi, the NAFTI board chairman. Copies of the report were also made available to the Minister of Information and the new NAFTI board.
Other retired staff members, who gave their positions well over 10 years this year, include Mr. Ebenezer Aryee, 70 years 4 months, a former Head of Sound Department (NAFTI) with Technical Training Certificate and Mr. Kofi Mends, 70 years 4 months, a former Dean of Studies, who wields a Diploma in Film and TV, at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The rest are Mr. Crown Dafamekpor, 70, a former Head of Editing with a Diploma in Film and TV; Mr. Ebo Prah, 66 years 8 months, a former Assistant Director, Technical with BFA Degree in Art and Seth Yeboah, 67 years 7 months, a former Assistant Head of Editing with a Diploma in Film and TV.
With the apparent lack of respect to qualification, some well qualified staff members had resigned in protest. These persons are Mr. Vitus Nanbigne, 45, an Assistant Lecturer with an MPhil in Directing and expecting PhD; Samuel Nai, 50, a Lecturer with a Master’s Degree in Editing; Mr. Francis Gbormittah, 44, a Lecturer with MPhil in Design; and Mr. Samuel Quartey 41, a lecturer with master’s Degree in Animation.
Another shocking revelation is that most of the staff, particularly the retired staff in question, who have been described by some senior staff members as ‘perfidious pensioners,’ have accumulated a huge number of annual leave days before retirement.
The Rector, Mr. Lo accumulated annual leave of over 800 days and based on 42 days earned leave per year, means that the Rector on the average has not gone on annual leave for the past 19 years, with the Registrar accumulating over 600 days annual leave which also implies that he has not gone on annual leave for almost 14 years.
The Director of Finance, Mr. Moses Quaye, accumulated over 900 days of his annual leave which indicates that he has not taken his annual leave for the past 16 years, meaning that he leads the pack of pensioners and staff with huge accumulated leave.
A recent audit report by the Auditor-General, according to the document, raised various queries about the activities and operations of these retired staff with the sector Minister recommending their dismissal, but Mr. Lo and his subordinates are still at post.
Scared of being asked to go home, Mr. Lo, according to TODAY’s findings, has kicked against several attempts by some staff members to place the institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education (MoE)— thereby leaving NAFTI to wallow in its apparent managerial bankruptcy.
More revelation on how NAFTI has been hijacked by some few individuals who have placed their interest above that of the institute will be published in our subsequent editions, as the thirteen (13) page document contains a lot of startling revelations.
BY STEPHEN DARKO
The above issues about NAFTI are 100% true but tip of the icebeg.What pains me most is that Mrs. Zita Okai Koi, the Sector Minister is going to allow this array of treacherous and technologically bankrupt retired staff to hide their misdeeds and finally collapse this fine film school. The Minister has just inaugurated NAFTI Board on 1st December, 2009 and expecting the Prof. Anyidoho to come and clear this shameful gang of pensioners at NAFTI. But the fact is that the Prof. is not going to sack them now because he is also a retired staff at Legon although given contract legitimately without occupying any active post at Legon.. Moreover, Prof. is a world traveller and would not have time for NAFTI. Prof. just came from abroad last week and also immediately the Board was inaugurated he travelled outside the country on that day. The Minister should have taken a bold decision and asked this people to step aside for an investigation to commence into their nefarious activities at NAFTI. It is known that Mr. Lo is related to the Minister is that why the Minister cannot ask him to leave.
One of hidden issues at NAFTI is about public universities salary structure granted NAFTI. Staff who are only diploma holders were placed at levels equivalent to Senior Lecturers, Associate Professors and Professors in the public universities. It is true that the Rector is just 6month certificate holder but he was placed at the level of professor and taking salaries and conditions of service equivalent to that level likewise other people. It is a known fact that during the adoption of the university salary structure this NAFTI Management manipulated the system and hid the profile of their staff and even the authorities did not ask for this and some NAFTI staff were just placed on the University salary structure arbitrarily.
There is an officer in the finance dept with Chartered Accountants(CA) Ghana Part 2 and expecting Chartered status from the Final Part 3 with a considerable experience but the retired Director of Finance with his over 30 year old acake diploma in accounting does want to handover to this young professional. A letter was served this Director of Finance informing him of his retirement and also to handover to this youngman but he refused. The Rector and the weak NAFTI Registrar have kept quiet and continued to swim in their managerial incompetence. The same Director of Finance was registered and huge fees were paid for correspondence course but he refused to attend lectures for the course and the fees have been wasted which is a financial loss to the state. He always likes to be around to be collecting kickbacks from NAFTI mini works contractors and equipment suppliers which is the culture among the top management personnel. More comments, valid, truthful and undeniable revelations to come.
I congratulate the Today Newspaper for your crusade against corruption and maladministration in state institutions. Mr. Stephen Darko more grease to your elbow. Your Newspaper will continue to be my first choice of Newspapers. Gob bless the Today Newspaper, God bless Ghana.