Professor Emeritus Stephen Adei, a Ghanaian educationist, writer, economist, and former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has launched the long-awaited book, ‘The GIMPA Story’, as well as two other books titled: ‘Living by Strategy’ and ‘Managing Your Life.’
The GIMPA Story, transforming a public service training school into a self-financing university of leadership, management, and administration in Ghana, is a must-read for all, especially those in leadership.
Professor Adei is optimistic that the book’s lessons and motivation will help readers become transformative agents.
“The GIMPA story had to be told, and I could not forever resist those who have been demanding for it. GIMPA’s success story was a joint effort, especially of the Court of Governors as our Council used to be called, and dedicated management and faculty, and without this publication, there was no way to celebrate them.
Also, the uniqueness of the GIMPA story lies in the fact that it is possible in Ghana to run a public university without subvention and to succeed at that. The GIMPA story had to be written because it tells of the struggles and personal sacrifices any leader has to go through to serve “God, family and country”.
“The story had to be told to celebrate the only statement I am globally known for: ‘Leadership is cause, everything else is effect’. Restricting myself to public tertiary education, the story shows that governing councils of public universities are not unduly filled with party ideologies, especially the chairs and vice-chancellors, who are not appointed on the basis of the publications. Do not forget the word ‘Professor’ is a glorified student with twenty to thirty essays (publications) against their names or we will get greater mileage from our universities in Ghana,” he said.
“The bane of development is leadership, as evidenced by the current economic crisis, which includes high inflation fueled by the depreciation of the cedi, seasonal and non-seasonal food crises, unprecedented international flight checks, more than doubled fuel prices, high import and fares costs, rigidities in public expenditure, non-stop leakages, and our aversion to not paying taxes (even for those living in multi-million Trasacco houses) in the face of debt overhanging, COVID blues,” he added.
In a review, a Ghanaian educationist, teacher, columnist, and author, Anis Haffar, stated that the book is valuable and must be exploited from all angles as Prof. Adei has provided enough experiential resources to show any current CEO where to go, and how to get there. Additionally, it tracks the pitfalls to avoid, like corruption, nepotism, intellectual laziness, and political interference. The 311-page book has 16 chapters, and each chapter has its own deliberate story to tell.
Prof. Adei’s passion for providing a guide to individuals as they embark on their life journey, striving to meet their goals inspired the other two books, ‘Living by Strategy’ and ‘Managing Your Life.’
Individuals can order their copies through the https://stephenadeibooks.com/, A&C Mall, and Challenge bookshop.
