19TH MEETING HELD ON THE 20TH DECEMBER, 2009

ABURAMAN PASTS STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (APSA)

MINUTES OF 19TH MEETING HELD ON THE 20TH DECEMBER, 2009


Attendance Apologies

1. Abraham Nkrumah
2. Juliet Boakye
3. Albert Yeboah
4. Isaac Ainoo
5. Nana Ama Hayford Asare
6. Francis Baffoe
7. Samuel E. Arthur
8. Francisca Tawiah
9. Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi

1. OPENING

Opening prayer was said by APSA Juliet Boakye for the commencement of the meeting at exactly 3.40pm

APSA Albert Yeboah assumed the chairmanship position to pave way for the commencement of the meeting, as the interim chairman was not present at the time the meeting begun. He read the minutes of the previous meeting. The necessary corrections were made. ASPA Juliet Boakye moved for the acceptance of the meeting and was seconded by APSA Albert Yeboah.

2. MATTERS ARISING

i. OPENING OF BANK ACCOUNT
Members agreed on the advice given by ASPA Ato Appiah, to withhold the opening of the accounts with the interim executives until substantive executives are elected.

ii. REPORT ON THE PROGRAMME FOR THE HOME-COMING
Unfortunately the two member committee that was tasked to come out with a programme of action for the above trip was not present. However, APSA Ato Appiah through telephone conversation gave his personal views as the committee at the time had not met.

APSA Ato-Appiah proposed that at least three members should be made to prepare motivational speeches to be read to the students. APSA Albert Yeboah said it would be appropriate if those people would be selected at a meeting. This would allow members to contribute to the writing of the speeches and therefore own the speeches that would be read.
APSA Ato-Appiah also proposed that awards should be organized for brilliant students. ASPA Francis Baffoe suggested that members should put a hold on the awards for now, instead, launch the awards scheme during our visit, for this would enable the Association to plan and prepare adequately for it and the students knowing what is at stake would prepare for it.

There was a proposal by APSA Albert Yeboah that, there should be a Career Counseling. Both APSA Albert Yeboah and ASPA Samuel Arthur spoke at length on it. They explained that this would help the students to make informed choices on courses they intend pursuing at tertiary institutions and other opportunities available else where. But the “modus aperandi” was not spelt out. APSA Samuel Arthur lured the proposals from both quarters but urged the committee to meet officially put their views on paper for discussion at a meeting. APSA Ato-Appiah was called on phone and informed about the interim chairman’s suggestion.

A visit to the school to enquire about the building plan being used for the structural development of the school was considered. APSA Albert Yeboah suggested that three people should be selected to visit the school. Members agreed to select the three people at our next meeting so that they could visit the school on16th January, 2010.APSA Samuel Arthur advised that permission must be sought from the Headmaster before the visit.

3. PAYMENT OF DUES
APSA Albert Yeboah congratulated members for prompt payment of their dues and also urged members to make donation towards the Home Coming Visit, since the dues paid so far could not meet the expenses we would incur. APSA Samuel Arthur also emphasized the need for members to contribute towards the visit.
APSA Fiifi Gyebi wanted to know whether the Headmasters’ decision to provide free transportation for the Association would not in anyway influence the administration of the Association. APSA Juliet Boakye reminded members that, the issue had been considered in our previous meetings and the decision arrived was that Headmaster’s gesture could influence us so the Association should try to provide for its own means. APSA Samuel Arthur explained that the Headmaster’s decision, in his view, was just to support the Association for their move to change the face of the school. Nevertheless, the Assocition could provide for their transport.

4. ADVERT
Members agreed to deliberate on the advert issue and take a concrete decision at the next meeting. The following members were tasked to visit some newspaper publishers and make enquiries for social basket advert.
APSA Albert Yeboah - Daily Graphic
APSA George Nkrumah – Ghanaian Times
Since APSA George Nkrumah was not present at the meeting, APSA Fiifi Gyebi was tasked to pass the information to him


5.ANY OTHER MATTERS
Members agreed to meet continuously after next meeting on the 3rd January 2010 till the Association’s Home Coming Visit.
Members were informed about the death of APSA Betty Quist’s father. Members visited her after meeting but met her absence. She was called on the phone and members expressed our condolence.

6. CLOSING
Apsa Nana Ama Hayford Asare moved for the close of the meeting and was seconded by Apsa Francisca Tawiah at 5.55pm
The closing prayer was said by Nana Ama Hayford Asare

18TH MEETING HELD ON THE 6TH DECEMBER, 2009 AT COCOA CLINIC

ABURAMAN PAST STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (GREATER ACCRA BRANCH)
MINUTES OF 18TH MEETING HELD ON THE 6TH DECEMBER, 2009 AT COCOA CLINIC
Attendance: Apologies:
1. Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi 1. Samuel Ewudzie Arthur
2. John Atta Mensah 2. Frederick Yeboah
3. Juliet Boakye 3. Abraham Nkrumah
4. Albert Yeboah
5. Paul Ato Appiah
6. George Nkrumah

1.0 OPENING
The meeting started with a prayer by APSA Juliet Boakye at 4.15pm.
The interim chairman and the secretary were absent at the start of the meeting. APSA Fiifi Ansah Gyebi and Albert Yeboah played those roles.
The minutes of the previous meeting was read. All the necessary corrections were made.
1.1 Acceptance of Previous Minutes The previous minutes were read to members. As there were no corrections in it, APSA John Atta Mensah moved for the acceptance of the minutes which was seconded by APSA Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi.

2.0 MATTERS ARISING
2.1 OPENING OF BANK ACCOUNTS
APSA Albert Yeboah informed members about the readiness of the letter to Ecobank to open an account with it. Copies were also distributed to members. APSA George Nkrumah asked why the account was to be opened with Ecobank. The chairman informed him that it had been resolved at our previous meetings, hence Ecobank as our choice of bank. APSA Ato Appiah (being a banker) educated members on the charges banks deduct from accounts and therefore wished to know the charges from Ecobank in order to give us an expert’s advice. He also mentioned some problems we may encounter with the bank when we open the account with the interim signatories. Members discussed this at length and came to a conclusion that we should hold on with the opening of the accounts till substantive executives are put in place.

2.2 Forum with Aburaman students:
Members continued with the discussion of the forum with the student body scheduled for 6th February 2010. APSA Ato Appiah asked how we are going to meet the headmaster and know his plans about the school. He also mentioned that we should think of strategies we may adopt to deal with some of the problems the school is facing. APSA George Nkrumah advised members to tread cautiously on issues of governance of the school in order not to step on people’s toes. APSA Albert Yeboah suggested to members to sleep over activities we intend to do when we visit the school. APSA Ato Appiah suggested that we should form a committee to come out with a programme of activities during the visit. APSA Fiifi Ansah Gyebi proposed APSA George Nkrumah and Ato Appiah to be the committee members which all agreed.

3.0 OTHER MATTERS
3.1 APSA YEBOAH’S MEETING WITH THE HEADMASTER
APSA Albert Yeboah mentioned that the headmaster had a meeting with him on Wednesday 25th November 2009 at his office and gave account of the meeting. He said the headmaster asked the Association should help the school erect a pavilion for the students use. APSA Yeboah gave a report on a visit to the school after the meeting with the headmaster. He said the way the pavilion and other structures have been positioned are not good and therefore members should inform the authorities to use the plan for the construction of any project. APSA George Nkrumah mentioned that we should seek the original school plan in order to make an informed decision.

4.0 CLOSING OF THE MEETING At 5.45pm, APSA John Atta Mensah moved for the close of the meeting which was seconded by APSA Juliet Boakye. The closing prayer was said by APSA George Nkrumah.


Recorder: APSA Albert Yeboah

17TH MEETING HELD ON THE 22ND NOVEMBER, 2009 AT COCOA CLINIC

ABURAMAN PAST STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (GREATER ACCRA BRANCH)
MINUTES OF 17TH MEETING HELD ON THE 22ND NOVEMBER, 2009 AT COCOA CLINIC
Present
1. Abraham Nkrumah 7.Walley Benson
2. John Atta Mensah 8. Francis Baffoe
3. Edward Abakah-Hanson 9. Samuel E. Arthur
4. Frederick Yeboah 10. Isaac Hurson
5. Albert Yeboah 11. Emmanuel Akwasi Agyapong
6. Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi
1.0 OPENING
The meeting began at 4.00pm with an opening prayer by APSA John Atta Mensah.
APSA Albert Yeboah chaired the meeting as the interim chairman was not present at the time of commencement. APSA Abraham Nkrumah was asked to relieve the interim secretary, APSA Emmanuel A. Agyapong of his duties as the latter has been offered a new appointment with Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) at Akyem Tafo in the Eastern Region.
The minutes of the previous meeting was read. All the necessary corrections were made.
1.1 Omissions from the previous minutes The previous minutes did not mention anything concerning the letter of appreciation to thank APSA Ato Appiah for his personal donation to the Greater Accra branch of the Association.
The minutes was also silent on the resolution taken to open an account with Ecobank head office.
1.2 Acceptance of the minutes APSA Francis Baffoe moved for the acceptance of the minutes after the necessary corrections had been made, and was seconded by APSA Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi.

2.0 MATTERS ARISING
2.1 OPENING OF BANK ACCOUNTS
At the meeting, members reiterated their previous decision to open an account with the Ecobank Ghana Ltd head office here in Accra. It was agreed that the signatories to the accounts shall (until substantive executives are elected) be the interim chairman and the interim secretary.

2.2 Letter From the Management of Aburaman Secondary School
A letter from the headmaster of the school to the Association concerning our meeting with the current student body and the teachers was read by APSA Albert Yeboah and copies were also distributed to members. By the content of the letter, the forum had already been organized. Members suggested that there was still the need for members to find time to meet with the students as requested by the headmaster. Members were therefore asked to propose for a suitable date for this all important ‘Homecoming’ trip to ABUSEC.

Some of the initially proposed dates were the Carol Day/Night and 6th February 2010. Many considerations concerning these dates were put forward but in the end it was agreed that the date should be 6th February 2010. Though the date will be a funeral day for the people of Abura Dunkwa, members agreed that the meeting was not going to be disrupted by the funeral celebrations in the town. The argument to rebuff the Carol Day meeting was that, members conceded that giving a typical carol service day/night will be loaded with lot of activities and therefore adding more activities to the program shall impact negatively on the object of the meeting if it was scheduled on that same day.

The discussion on the above subject was suspended until our next meeting. However, the following were highlights of some of the activities planned for the day:
1. Sensitization of the student body about the meeting which shall be done far in advance by the authorities of the school prior to the day.
2. Arrangement to go for dawn trotting with the students
3. The forum in the afternoon with the students followed by a short meeting with the Teaching Staff.

2.3 Acknowledgement from APSA Ato Appiah
APSA Albert Yeboah told the meeting that APSA Appiah had acknowledged receipt of the letter of appreciation. He read APSA Appiah’s response to the hearing of members.
APSA Ansah-Gyebi suggested that copies of the association’s letter of appreciation and the response from APSA Appiah be sent to all the other branches both in Ghana and abroad.

3.0 OTHER MATTERS
APSA Francis Baffoe prompted members to get some of the ladies to go with the male counterparts to the school for the program. APSA Albert Yeboah used the time to talk about our unimpressive membership drive. We all agreed that even though we have continuously seen new members attending meetings for the first time every meeting day but they do not attend subsequent meetings. APSA Isaac Hurson suggested for at least an advertisement on either the TV or Radio to be made. He added that he could as well do the text messaging to members as he has been doing. But another school of thought was for year-mates to contact their friends as that might improve the membership drive.

An end-of-year party was proposed all in the interest of getting more past students to our fold. The problem of this noble idea was however, the how and when. This idea was withdrawn by members but agreed to revisit it later in one of our meetings.

Members requested that regular information on our dues should be given at meetings.

APSA Samuel E. Arthur in his closing remarks thanked members and advised that the battle has just began and therefore we should brace ourselves to confront the difficult challenges ahead.

4.0 CLOSING OF THE MEETING The meeting came to a close when APSA Atta Mensah moved for the meeting to come to a close and was seconded by APSA Hurson. The closing prayer was said by APSA Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi.


Recorder: APSA Abraham Nkrumah
30th November, 2009


Dear Sir,
OPENING OF ACCOUNTS
The Greater Accra Branch of the above association at its 17th meeting held at the Cocoa Clinic on the 22nd November agreed to open an account with the head office branch of your bank.
The name of the account shall be “APSA Greater Accra Branch”.
The signatories to the account for the time being shall be the Mr. Samuel Ewudzi Arthur (the interim chairman) and Mr. Abraham Emmanuel Saah Nkrumah (the interim secretary). Please find attached the specimen signatures of the two officers.
We have also attached copies of the minutes that authorized the opening of the accounts and our Draft Constitution of the Association.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Yours faithfully,

Abraham Emmanuel Saah Nkrumah (INTERIM SECRETARY)

Dear APSA Ato APPRECIATION

Date: 22nd October 2009
APSA PAUL ATO APPIAH
BARCLAYS BANK LTD
ACCRA

Dear APSA Ato
APPRECIATION
The interim leaders and entire membership of the Aburaman Past Students Association wish to express our gratitude for your kind gesture of three hundred Ghana cedis (¢300.00) to the Association. We appreciate your contributions in discussions, suggestions, cash and all others.
A firm decision will be made on how to use the donation.
We pray the Good Lord to replenish whatever you have lost to the Association in many folds.
Again we say thank you.
Sincerely,

(Ag. Chairman)

MINUTES OF 15TH MEETING HELD ON THE 25TH OCTOBER, 2009 AT COCOA CLINIC

ABURAMAN PAST STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF 15TH MEETING HELD ON THE 25TH OCTOBER, 2009 AT COCOA CLINIC
Present
1. Mr. Albert Yeboah
2. Mrs. Betty Anum-Quist
3. Mr. Fiifi Ansah Gyebi
4. Mr. John Atta Mensah
5. Mr. Stephen Korankye Boafo
6. Mr. Francis Baffoe
7. Mr. Isaac Ainoo
8. Mr. George Agyekum
9. Mr. Isaac Bright Hurson
10. Mr. Abraham Nkrumah
11. Mr. Juliet Boakye
12. Mr. Samuel E. Arthur
13. Mr. Emmanuel Akwasi Agyapong
The meeting began at 4:05pm with a prayer by Mr. Fiifi Ansah Gyebi. Mr. Yeboah acted as chairman because Mr. Arthur (the interim chairman) was not present.
The previous minutes were read and few corrections made. Mr. Isaac Ainoo moved for the acceptance of the minutes which was seconded by Mr. John Atta Mensah.
Business of the meeting
1. Amount to pay as dues. This item became necessary for discussion because the constitution was silent about the exact amount to be paid by members as dues. Prior to that, there were various contribution of ideas about the dues.
i. Mr. Hurson suggested that we should not state in the constitution a specific amount to be paid as dues.
ii. Mr. Agyekum suggested that the amount to be paid as dues should be uniform through out all the branches, then a branch can levy it members and use its for their own expenses.
iii. Mr. Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi suggested that a branch should levy dues according to their strength but pay a percentage of their contribution to the NEC as the branch’s dues.
iv. Mr. Yeboah suggested that the amount of dues to be paid is to be decided at AGM, so at the moment we should decide as a branch the amount to pay as dues.
v. Mrs. Quist suggested that since there is no NEC at the moment, we as Accra branch should decide an amount to pay as dues to enable us run our branch successfully.
vi. Mr. Arthur supported Mrs. Quist
vii. Mr. Abraham Nkrumah also supported Mr. Ansah-Gyebi.
viii. Madam Juliet suggested that we should consider that the dues to be paid by students should be different from that of the others.
After the various suggestions it was agreed that we as a branch should decide on our dues until the one from AGM is accepted.
Our next discussion was on how much to be paid as dues. The chairman asked the opinion of all members present. There were 10 members at the time. Six suggested GH¢50.00 a month, Two suggested GH¢10.00, One suggested GH¢6.00 and One also suggested GH¢3.00. The chairman then concluded that GH¢5.00 will be paid as dues but students will pay GH¢2.00.
It was also agreed that payment of dues will start from the month of November, 2009.
Amendment of Constitution
It was decided that the one week notice circulated to all members for a proposal for amendment is too short, so 21 days notice was accepted.
Effect of Constitution
It was concluded that the constitution comes into effect from the 1st January, 2010.
Meetings
The chairman reminded us that from the decisions we have made so far concerning our meeting days we are suppose to meet on the 8th November, 2009.
Other matters
Mr. Yeboah suggested that we should open a bank account with the seed money. He also suggested that since our constitution was getting reader, we should get ready to elect our executives.
Members agreed that we open a bank account with the seed money but the question was which bank?
Members suggested various banks but it was finally agreed that we open the account with Ecobank.
Mr. Nkrumah thanked Mr. Hurson on our behalf for the messages he sent to remind us of the meeting.
The chairman in his closing remarks thanked members for their commitment and urged them to continue. He also said that we should step up our efforts to bring new members. He urged members to pay their dues promptly and urged that those who are in a position to pay in advance can do so.
Mr. Korankye moved for the close of the meeting and was seconded by Mr. Baffoe
The meeting came to a close at 6:05pm with a prayer by Mr. Arthur.
Recorded by: Emmanuel Akwasi Agyapong

7TH MEETING HELD AT COCOA CLINIC ON THE 29TH AUGUST, 2009.

ABURAMAN PAST STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
MINUTE OF 7TH MEETING HELD AT COCOA CLINIC ON THE 29TH AUGUST, 2009.


Attendance
1. Emmanuel Akwasi Agyapong
2. Mrs. Betty Anum-Quist
3. Paul Ato Appiah
4. Albert Yeboah
5. Samuel E. Arthur
6. Stephen Korankye Boafo
7. Walley Benson
8. John Atta Mensah
9. Abraham Nkrumah
10. Juliet Boakye
11. Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi
12. Francis Idun

The meeting began at 3: 20pm with prayer by Mr. Korankye. Mr. Yeboah moved for the acceptance of the minutes and was seconded by Mrs. Quist, after the following corrections were made.

1. Mr. Benson asked for consistency in the use of his name since at times walley was used. He emphasized that he preferred Benson.
2. Mr. Yeboah asked the secretary to indent the minutes to indicate an action box.
3. Mr. Ato Appiah stressed that it was necessary to indicate the actual name of the headmaster for records purposes.

Matters arising from previous meeting:

The Chairman asked us to have a second look at using Cocoa Clinic for the meeting and also suspending the radio announcement. Mr. Yeboah re-emphasized on the reasons for that decision. Mr. Ato Appiah agreed to the meeting place but explained that the radio announcement could still be made without a venue. However, certain contacts will be given for people to call and would be told. He also added that he would solely bear the cost of the announcement. All applauded him.

It was also concluded that Past students would be used instead of old students.

Copies of the constitution were made available to members as promised.

Copies of the drafted letter-head were given to members for corrections, suggestions and approval.

The chairman asserted that we need more than two representations on the Board of Governors of the school. He therefore stressed that the PTA chairman who is a past student is an automatic member. He said since he is also a government appointee to the district assembly, he was going make arrangement for him to represent the assembly on the board, so that two other members would be selected to make it four past students on the board. All lauded the idea.

He also said, the headmaster told them that in September, there will be a welcome ceremony for the fresh students. This he said was an opportunity for us to meet the students.




The chairman asked if there were anything we could do, or discuss in our meetings apart from what we normally do or talk about. Mr. Ansah-Gyebi said we should discuss the payment of dues. Mr. Yeboah suggested that we should rather study the constitution and make recommendations, for its quick adoption so that we can agree on the dues to be paid. He further suggested that the constitution should be completed within the next two weeks. Mr. Ato –Appiah suggested that we should lay down the foundation of the association by appointing leadership.

Assignment on radio announcements:

NAME RADIO STATION TIME TO REPORT
Mr. Yeboah Peace FM Next meeting
Mr. Ansah-Gyebi Radio Gold Next meeting
Mr. Nkrumah Unique FM Next meeting

Other Matters:
Mr. Korankye wanted to know if the other branches have the constitution. The chairman explained that soft copies will be sent to the various co-ordinators for them to send their recommendations within a time frame.

Mr. Ansah-Gyebi wanted to know whether the constitution was for the all the branches. The chairman explained that it was for the entire association.

Mr. Nicholas Tawiah the co-ordinator for the overseas branch called to inform us about their support and preparedness to contribute to any project or activity undertaken by the association.

The Chairman in his closing remarks reminded all members to remain committed.

Mr. Nkrumah moved for the close of the meeting which was seconded by Mr. Mensah. The meeting came to a close at 5: 20pm with prayer by Mr. Ato Appiah.

Recorded by: Emmanuel Akwasi Agyapong.

Aburaman Past Students Meeting on 27TH SEPTEMBER, 2009

ABURAMAN PAST STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD AT COCOA CLINIC ON THE 27TH SEPTEMBER, 2009
Attendance
1. Albert Yeboah 9. Paul Ato Appiah
2. Isaac Ainoo 10. Francis Baffoe
3. Stephen Korankye Boafo 11. Abraham Nkrumah
4. Walley Benson 12. Betty Anum-Quist
5. George Agyekum 13. Juliet Boakye
6. Isaac Kojo Gyesi 14. Isaac Bright Hurson
7. Fiifi Ansah-Gyebi 15. Samuel Arthur
8. Emmanuel Akwasi Agyapong
The meeting started with a prayer by Mr. Francis Baffoe.
The Business of the Meeting: The discussion of the draft constitution
The meeting started with the discussion of the draft constitution as the Interim Secretary was not present at the time.
Mr. Yeboah announced that the 3-member committee which was tasked to work on branch executives’ membership and duties which were omitted from the draft constitution have duly finished their work and have submitted it for discussion at the meeting. This opened the way for the discussion to start from the Branch Executive.
Mr. Ato Appiah suggested that the proposed four (4) year duration by which someone could hold a position in the Association should be reduced to three (3) years. His reason being that, the four years is so long a time to bring changes and for that matter, the vibrancy and infusion of new ideas for the development of the Association.
Mr. Isaac Gyesi also proposed two (2) years duration for one to hold a position in the Association. He also gave a similar reason to that of Mr. Appiah.
The chairman suggested that because we have had 3 different views, which were four, three and two years, there should be voting to decide on this issue.
Members agreed to vote and the results were as follows:
Total vote cast 12
4 years 2
3 years 7
2 years 3
From the results it was therefore concluded that the duration for all the office holders will be three years.
It was also agreed that it should be captured in the preamble of the Constitution that apart from the President, all other executives can subject themselves for other positions they were yet to be held at the end of their terms of office.
Mandate for opening bank accounts
It was decided that for the purpose of signing the cheques, signatories shall be categorized into two (2) that is, category A which shall comprise the President and the Vice President, whiles category B shall comprise the Financial Secretary and the Treasurer. It was decided that one executive from each category can transact business with the association’s bankers.
Mr. Yeboah also drew members’ attention to the fact that there was no telephone numbers on the Association’s letterhead and therefore suggested that the Interim President and Secretary’s personal telephone numbers be used, and members present agreed.
Matters Arising
Mr. Yeboah again informed the meeting that the headmaster had informed him that GETFUND has agreed to sponsor the project the school proposed to undertake to ease the accommodation situation in the school and will have agreed to increase the blocks proposed from twelve (12) to eighteen (18). The headmaster further explained that since school has re-opened and was also expecting fresh students, he would make some pavilions so he would still need the iron sheets and the roofing nails.
Total estimate of roofing sheets and roofing nails from the headmaster’s budget were as below:
12 packs of roofing sheets 12@ GH 300=3,600
10 packs of roofing nails 10@ GH 100=1,000
GH¢ 4,600
Members agreed to take a decision in our next meeting. Mr. Ato Appiah donated GH¢ 300 as a seed money towards the project and/or anything would be finally agreed upon. Members applauded him for his kind gesture.
It was decided that our meetings will be held bi-weekly starting from next week 4th October 2009. However, a firm decision will be made in our next meeting.
Mr. Ansah-Gyebi moved for the close of the meeting and was seconded by Mr. Nkrumah.
Mr. Korankye said the closing prayer.