Ghana’s Parliament has passed the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Amendment Bill, 2025, officially changing the name of the public university in Wa to the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa.
The bill, which amends the original Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Act, 2019 (Act 1001), removes the reference to the late Ghanaian statesman Simon Diedong Dombo from the institution’s title.
In a session on Thursday, the Speaker of Parliament announced: “Honorable members, the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Amendment Bill, 2025, which has just been read for the third time and duly passed.”
The name change fulfills a pledge made by President John Dramani Mahama during his 2024 campaign, where he criticized the 2019 renaming under the previous NPP government as partisan. The original elevation of the former Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies to autonomous status included honoring Dombo, a key figure in the Danquah-Dombo-Busia political tradition.
Supporters of the amendment argue it depoliticizes public institutions, focusing instead on the university’s core mandate in business and integrated development studies. Critics, however, view it as erasing historical recognition.
The new name takes effect immediately upon presidential assent. University officials in Wa have indicated that transitional arrangements, including updates to signage and documentation, will follow.
The institution, established in 2020, continues to serve the Upper West Region with programs aimed at fostering practical development and business leadership.
By: Adil Fuseini
