GETFund scholarships: Bar MPs, ministers and high-ranking officials from benefiting directly - Ablakwa

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described as morally reprehensible the incident of ministers of state and legislators being named as beneficiaries of the government scholarship opportunities offered by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND).

An audit released by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) Scholarship Scheme for the period 2012 to 2018, named some government appointees as beneficiaries of the fund set aside majorly for needy but brilliant students.

There has been a public outcry with many Ghanaians, particularly on social media condemning ministers of state who were cited in the auditor-general’s report providing the list of all the beneficiaries of government scholarships spanning from as far back as 2009.

Incumbent Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Kwabenya and daughter of Ghanaian car manufacturer, Apostle Safo, Adwoa as well as Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, together with several other members of the governing NPP have all been indicated in the report.

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa who was the Deputy Education Minister in charge of Tertiary Education intimated that his Ministry did not approve the scholarships as they were not brought to their attention.

“May I also caution that attempts by some beneficiaries and their spokespersons to rely on paragraph E of Section 2(2) of Act 581 to justify their conduct is untenable as contrary to the law, there was no Ministerial approval secured for these scholarships since they were not brought to our attention when we served at the Ministry of Education,” he wrote on his Facebook wall.

He further advised that “a code of conduct barring all MPs, Ministers and other high-ranking officials of state from directly benefiting from such schemes intended for the gifted but needy.”

Below is his full post on Facebook