KUFUOR HONOURED BY PREMPEH CLASS OF '75 YEAR GROUP

Accra (Greater Accra) 23 July 2001

The Prempeh College 1975 year group on Saturday honoured President John Agyekum Kufuor, an old student, on his election as the President of Ghana.

He was presented with a plaque and a bouquet at this year's annual fund-raising and dinner dance organised by the group at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra. President Kufuor, overwhelmed by the honour said the motto of the College, "Suban ne nimdee" (Character and Knowledge), has made students who attended the College all-round citizens for all sectors of the economy and politics. He commended the group for their initiative to organise the function based on year groups, adding, " I wish to encourage you for the initiative which is exemplary.". Two other personalities honoured were Mr. Sam Kwesi Jonah, Chief Executive of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) and Mr. Frederick Osafo Ntim, Managing Director of Fon Group of Companies for their contribution to education, mining and the paper industry in the country.

Professor A.B. Akosa, National President of the Prempeh Old Students Association who presented President Kufuor with the plaque said all past students have a duty to President Kufuor to assist him with their brains and brawn to ensure that his presidency achieves beyond the wildest dreams of Ghanaians. He said the 1971 year group has decided to expand the capacity of the College's dinning hall by 200. Work would begin next month and it is expected to be commissioned during this year's speech day.

Professor Akosa, who is also the President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), said about 700 million cedis have so far been spent on the construction of a new dormitory for the Opoku Ware House of the College and was left with about 100 million cedis to complete the project. He called for generous contributions towards its completion.

Mr. Dominic Owusu Sekyere, President of the 1975 year group said as organisers of this year's event, they decided to make fund-raising their main focus and was hopeful that the event was not meant for them to wine and dine but to raise funds for a specific project that would benefit the College. He announced that the group has decided to build a world-class Computer Data Centre, estimated at 300 million cedis for the College. It would consist of a powerful server, a high-speed Local Area Network, a printer and all the required peripherals and accessories.

Mr. Owusu Sekyere said it would also be Internet-enabled to give the students the ability to send e-mails and surf the Internet without having to go off campus.