Finance, Education Ministries must account for GHC2.4b Free SHS cash

The Ranking Member on Education Committee in Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak has bemoaned the continuous challenges that have bedeviled the government’s flagship policy the Free Senior High School (FSHS).

According to him, despite the huge investment in the FSHS there are complaints from the schools and alleged that monies approved for the schools do not get to them.

“I dare say that I don’t believe that all the colossal amount of resources assigned for the implementation of the program have gone to the program. Because if these monies have been going to the program many of the challenges bedeviling the free Senior High Schools since its inception by this time should have been a thing of the past.

“I challenge the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education to account and give us the breakdown regarding the colossal increase in the amount invested in the free Senior High Schools between 2020 and 2021. An additional expenditure of GHC2.4 billion which they cannot account for,” he told Lantam Papanko on Starr Today Monday.

He continued “So the question is this, what has happened to all the monies that are said to be expended on the back of free Senior High Schools? Because if those monies were being applied as expected I seriously don’t believe we should be contending with these things in this day and age.”

The Builsa South Member of Parliament’s concerns stems from the challenges with food supply to some Senior High Schools in the country.

“The government has failed because ideally, these are matters that we have preempted before the reopening of schools in January. Even now that the schools are preparing to receive the year one. The academic calendar has always been known,” Clement Apaak stated.

According to him, the heads of government assistant secondary schools at their 59th Delegates Conference held in Bolgatanga listed 18 key issues affecting the smooth implementation of the free SHS policy.

“Among them was the delay of supply of food, the other around that is the dumping of food by buffer stock suppliers. And the request of the government to make sure that the funds for the procurement of perishables. As well as the 70 percent which was to come to them in the form of the food supply by buffer-stock should have been done ahead of the reopening. That has not happened,” he disclosed.

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The MP further alleged that “as we speak now the government owe buffer-stock suppliers some GHC350 million. So the government knows what to do.”

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5/Isaac Dzidzoamenu