FLASHBACK: My son was a beneficiary of GETFund scholarship – Asiedu Nketia

In February 2020, a list of government GETFund scholarship beneficiaries put out by the Auditor-General, revealed that some politicians and their relatives over the years benefited from the scheme meant for ‘brilliant but needy students in the country.

General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia in an interview confessed that his son was a GETFund beneficiary.

Read the full article as first published by GhanaWeb below

More revelations are popping up after the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo released the list of beneficiaries of GETFund scholarship meant for ‘brilliant but needy’ students in the country.

The latest is a confession by NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia who has admitted that his son was funded by the scheme for his tertiary education outside the country.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso nsem on Wednesday, Mr Asiedu Nketia explained that at the time of application, he had retired from legislator duties and as a result could not foot the bills of his son’s education; putting him under the ‘needy’ category.

“When I left Parliament some years back and had retired, I applied for a scholarship for my son from GETFund. My son was awarded the scholarship to study Risk Management outside the country because institutions of higher learning in Ghana were not offering that course.”

He, however, added that his son is currently on a different scholarship funded by the Chinese government studying his PhD.

“But my son is now done studying and has secured another scholarship by the Chinese government and is currently in China reading his PhD.”

There has been a public outcry following the release of a performance audit report showing the beneficiaries of GETFund scholarship and the expenditure allocations.

The presence of incumbent high-ranking government officials and ministers of state has incurred the wrath of many Ghanaians, particularly on social media as it shows a clear violation of the GETFund Act of parties entitled to the offers.

Minister of State in Charge of Procurement Sarah Adwoa Safo, was given $12,800 in allowances with $17,004 in tuition fees to study at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Minister for Education, Mathew Opoku Prempeh was also cited in the report to have benefitted from the scholarships, having received $12,800 for living expenses and $11,200 as tuition fees to study a National and International Security in Harvard University.