Established in 1983, the Management Development Institute presented its Activity Report and Audited Financial Statement for Consideration and adoption by the Finance and Public Accounts Committee and other subject matter specialists.
Presenting their activity reports, the Board of Governors gave a synopsis of the operations of the institute in national development to promote skills and excellence in the domains of academia, public service delivery and beyond.
On cooperation and partnerships, the institute has been working on expanding its reach beyond the provision of by annual disciplines thus extending to 2 years’ tailor made short term courses for public officials through the introduction of courses like; Diploma in Public Sector Management. The institute is at an advance stage in introducing courses on Psychosocial Guidance and Counselling and also the establishment of a career guidance and wellness center for students as well as reviewing the institute’s academic curriculum to include Higher National Diploma certifications.
To enhance capacity building through knowledge transfer, the institute is patterning with Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the Administrative Staff College in Nigeria to develop staff capacity and to better prepare them to deliver and meet the market value and to contribute more to academia.
On the progress of power supply, the institute has purchased a new standard high power generator to supplement the erratic flow of electricity for the smooth conduct of lectures in a conducive environment. The institute has also provided immoveable classroom chairs and seats placed in specific areas in campus to facilitate smooth learning for students outside the classroom.
On enrollment, the Management Development Institute enrolls twice a year but with the outbreak of the pandemic and a stagnation in the mode of enrollment and an abrupt closure, the institute suffered a huge revenue loss through enrollment of roughly D19.5m and lost a colossal sum of D15.1m in the form of debts owed to the institute from 2014-2020.
Queries on the management letter emanating from the external auditors revealed that the institute has gaps in maintaining a proper fixed asset register, senior Managers were benefiting from phone allowances when their lines are postpaid. In the management letter, it was also flagged that there was no updated personnel file management system, absence of logbook for generators and issuance of fuel coupons to drivers.
The Committee has requested the institute to produce evidence of the scheme of service which the management has claimed to review and has been subjected to the approval of the Board of Governors.
The Institute expressed their concerns and challenges tanging from the outstanding debts due to them, struggles during the collection of tuition fee, shortage of top notch facilities for the effective running of lectures, shared resources with the University of the Gambia affecting enrollment number.