‘$250k school block not my birthday gift’ - Hanna Tetteh fumes

Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya West, Hanna Tetteh, has denied media reports that the Chinese government constructed and furnished a six-classroom block as a birthday gift to her.

It was reported that the Chines Ambassador to Ghana, Sun Boahong, built the classroom block for Awutu DA JHS ‘B’ as a birthday gift to the MP who is also the Foreign Affairs Minister.

“According to the Ambassador, she built the school block as a birthday gift to the Member of Parliament for the area, Hanna Tetteh,” a news item by an Accra-based Citi FM read.

But Ms. Tetteh has denied the report as being factually wrong and inaccurate.

“The school is a public school and not a private property, it certainly IS NOT a personal gift to me. Now it is a facility available to the JHS students in my District Capital and I trust that it will improve the learning experience for them,” she said wrote on her Facebook wall in response to the news report.

She explained that prior to her birthday, she had discussed with the Ambassador how access to education in her constituency has been a challenge, especially when it comes to felicities.

Ms. Tetteh said she sought from the ambassador whether China could help in improving infrastructure in the constituency with grant funding, and that during the week of her birthday, the ambassador informed her that China could help in that regard.

“Subsequently during the week in which I celebrated my birthday she informed me that they would be in a position to construct and furnish a school in my Constituency, and thereafter in consultation with the District Chief Executive we selected the Awutu D. A. JHS "B" for construction,” she stated in the post.

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Really sometimes our journalistic standards never cease to amaze me. The Chinese Government has constructed a new Junior High School in my Constituency/District namely the Awutu D. A. JHS "B".

The project was funded as a grant project from the Government of China, and no indebtedness has been incurred in respect of this project by the Government of Ghana.

Last week the school was handed over to the Awutu Senya West District Assembly. The Ambassador of China and I were both at the handing over ceremony and none of us referred to the project as a gift to me, and now it is being reported as such? Amazing!

For the record, I had previously discussed with Madam Ambassador that one of the challenges in my Constituency/District was access to education and that there were a number of communities that needed to have their facilities upgraded and I inquired as to whether it would be possible for the Government of China to support any of these schools and improve their infrastructure with grant funding.

Subsequently during the week in which I celebrated my birthday she informed me that they would be in a position to construct and furnish a school in my Constituency, and thereafter in consultation with the District Chief Executive we selected the Awutu D. A. JHS "B" for construction.

Awutu D. A. JHS "A" had previously been reconstructed but the "B" block was in very bad shape, it looked more like a chicken coop than a school.

Due to the fact that this was a Chinese Government Grant projected the contract was awarded and all the procurement was undertaken by the Embassy of China in Ghana, the school was constructed and furnished in 3 months, as previously stated it has been commissioned and handed over to the Awutu Senya West

District Assembly.

Additionally Awutu D. A. JHS "A" was also renovated under the same project and the two schools which are adjacent to one another, and their compound look very good.

The school is a public school and not a private property, it certainly IS NOT a personal gift to me. Now it is a facility available to the JHS students in my District Capital and I trust that it will improve the learning experience for them.

The Government of China has constructed other school facilities in other parts of the country and has supported Ghana with various grant projects. This is not the first time a project of this kind has been executed in Ghana and it is a really nice school.

Hopefully with time the quality of news reporting in our country will improve and become more accurate and factual.