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Professor Yaw Agyeman Badu, Rector of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has called for partnership with investors to embark on infrastructural development at the institute. "This is a very strategic institution and no investment made would ever become a liability. I am therefore inviting investors to partner authorities of the Institute to embark on infrastructural development, "he said. Prof. Agyeman Badu made the call at the Eighth Graduation of the Institute in Accra. About 1,137 graduates were conferred with degrees, diplomas and certificates. They were made up of 837 Under-graduate Students, 255 Graduate Students, 19 Post-graduate Diplomas and 26 Post-graduate Certificates. Prof. Agyeman Badu said GIMPA deserved a library that would support the volume and variety of work in the institute, and management had therefore decided to initiate action towards the establishment of an ultra modern facility. "This is a capital intensive but non-profit making project, and the authorities would collaborate with its numerous friends in search of grants and donations and every form of assistance to execute this important project, "he added. He said there was the need for additional classrooms, offices for faculty and professional staff, as well as residential accommodation for both students and staff, adding "the need is urgent and the authorities cannot handle it alone". Prof. Agyeman Badu said with regard to residential accommodation for students, it would be done on a Build, Operate and Transfer System. He said organisations could also invest in the construction of classrooms or office blocks, which might be named after them. "The details of all this would be negotiated, but I am sending a clear message to invite strategic investors for mutually beneficial partnerships with GIMPA, "he said. Prof. Agyeman Badu noted that some major challenges affecting the institute include inaccessibility to opportunities in the public sector. He said although GIMPA was self-financing public sector institution, it must not be denied the opportunities available to other public universities. The Rector commended the management of Ghana Education Fund for its decision to study the capital projects of GIMPA for consideration as well as assistance in faculty research and development. Prof. Agyeman Badu appealed to government through the Forestry Commission for the release of a piece of land adjacent to the institute for immediate and future expansion. He pledged the commitment of the authorities to work to promote greater co-operation with the National Council for Tertiary Education, the National Accreditation Board, Vice Chancellors Ghana, the Association of African Universities and other institutions in the interest of higher education in Ghana and Africa. Prof. Agyeman Badu said for the past four years, the African Capacity Building Foundation had sponsored the Institute's Masters Degree Programme in Public Sector Management specially designed for middle and senior public sector managers from Anglophone West Africa. With this programme, GIMPA is also assisting to build the capacities of selected sister institutions, namely: Management Development Institute in Gambia, Institute of Public Administration and Management in Sierra Leone, Liberia Institute of Public Administration and Centre for Management Development in Nigeria to enhance their training in Public Sector Management. The first phase of the four-year programme would end on December 15, by which GIMPA would have offered masters degree programme to 138 candidates from Ghana, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. The sponsorship has been renewed therefore, preparations are underway for the second phase to start in January 2010. Prof. Agyeman Badu announced preparations towards the establishment of the GIMPA Law School and the running of PhD programmes and said the academic facility was waiting the nod of the National Accreditation Board to take off early next year. He said there had been numerous complaints that the hospitality section of the tourism industry lacked adequately trained junior and middle level manpower. Prof. Agyeman Badu said HOTCATT, the training institution of the tourism industry, had been handed over to GIMPA and this posed a challenge to the authorities to provide the needed facilities to ensure that its objectives were achieved. He said the EREDEC HOTEL in Koforidua was another important asset that had been handed over to GIMPA from the Ministry of Tourism and preparations were underway to revive the hotel for business. "It will also be used as a hospitality training centre and a location for GIMPA's outreach programmes in the Eastern Region," he added. Prof. Agyeman Badu announced the establishment of Edward Henaku Boohene Prize for Excellence, which would be awarded annually to the overall best under-graduate student. The prize will have a cash value of GH�1,000 which will be paid by the institute in memory of the immediate past and First Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute, the late Dr. Edward Henaku Boohene, who died in service last year. "He was a man of many parts, but above all, he was passionate about education and the pursuit of excellence in education as a memorial to him," he said. To the graduates, Prof. Agyeman Badu urged them to enter the world with a sense of pride, joy and self-confidence that they had been through GIMPA, adding, "Nobody goes through GIMPA and remains the same". "In the real world, stand tall; pursue a life of significance; and work diligently to move Ghana forward. "Make this country a better place to live and work. Remember that you are now ambassadors of GIMPA wherever you may be. Let your GIMPA colours shine brightly around you in all your endeavours, "he said.