The brain behind the establishment of Ghana Institute of Languages. A strong, viable and United Africa made up of Arabophone, Anglophone. Francophone and Luxophone Africa capable of measuring up to the likes of the United States of America and the then USSR, must have motivated the pan-african Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of the Republic of Ghana, to establish the Ghana Institute of Languages in 1961 and later in 1964 the School of Translators to train professional translators/interpreters to man the Organization of African Unity and its various agencies to be created at a future date.

Unfortunately, his vision was truncated with the coup d’état in 1996 when he was overthrown. The School of Translators which was his pet baby run from the presidency, became a pale shadow of what he had intended: A School of Translator patterned on the famous School of Translators of Geneva.

From its inception in 1964, graduates of the (SOT) School of Translators were awarded a Diploma in Translation; then at a later date the School was placed under the supervisory role of the University of Ghana and an external Diploma in translation was awarded; and finally in 2002, the School was affiliated to the University of Ghana with the award of a Bachelor in Translation.

Though entry requirements, the duration of course and course contents were the same as those of the state Universities in Ghana, the Diploma awarded initially was not accepted in Ghana as equivalent to a first university degree. This became a big frustration for holders of these Diplomas and eventually led to the collapse of the translation service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where most of the Diploma holders were employed. It must be noted however that these same Diplomas were highly recognized by International Organizations where some of these translators were employed. For example, First Quao who rose up to become a reviser at the United Nations worked with this Diploma so also with one Bensah who worked as Translator with ACP-EU in Bruxels.

Such was the state of affairs, when in 1992, Accra was to host the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. Suddenly, the Organizers of this meeting needed the services of Translators and Interpreters. There was no organized association of Translators/Interpreters in Ghana then. Translators/Interpreters were caught unprepared. Most of the Translators were found at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Lecturers at the Ghana Institute of Languages. Quickly invitations were sent out convening a meeting to present a common front for negotiation with the Organizers of the Conference. To cut a long story short, this meeting culminated in the formation of the Ghana Association of Translators and Interpreters in 1992.

As mentioned earlier the non-recognition of the Diploma in Ghana as equivalent of a first University Degree, coupled with a small group of some people who claimed they had trained abroad and were members of I A I C objected to the formation of GATI and worked tirelessly to sabotage the Association. Indeed they succeeded in discrediting the Association and in frustration some of the Executive members of the Association especially the President, a veteran UN Translator/Interpreter left the country never to return to lead the Association.

Attempts were made to revive the Association without much success. However, in 2005 an interim Executive body was elected to prepare the ground for a general meeting to be convened. For almost 10 years, the Interim Executive body failed to convene a general meeting until some concerned members took matters into their hands in 2016 and by dint of hard work managed to revive the Association and sooner than later the G A T I will be relaunched to a big sight of relief of all members.

EDWARD ERASMUS METEKU
A founding member of GATI in 1992