If Free SHS budgets are used properly, GWCL would not disconnect 5 SHS - Apaak

Dr. Clement Apaak, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Education Committee, has responded to the situation in which students and administration at certain Five Senior High Schools in the Krobo enclave are contending for access to water.

The MP for Builsa South says the news is terrible and wonders why the schools are indebted to the Ghana Water Company Limited.

The schools currently do not have access to water as a result of a disconnection exercise conducted by Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) due to their debt to the water distribution business.

Yilo Krobo SHS, Anum Presby SHS, Anum Presby Vocational Institute, Boso Senior High Technical, and Akro Senior High Technical School were all disconnected in November 2023 as part of GWCL’s statewide disconnection programme.

Academic activities are being disrupted as schools return in 2024 because children must line up for extended periods to collect water from a single borehole, while others hike in quest of water.

In response to the news, Dr. Apaak stated that parliament approved GH2.7 billion in expenditure for the free Senior High School policy this year.

He stated that since 2017, parliament has approved the government’s full budget proposal for the implementation of the free SHS policy.

As a result, he is worried as to why these schools would be indebted to the Ghana Water Company Limited and have their connections severed.

He has also reiterated his call for an audit into the spending on free SHS since he believes the approved expenditure under the policy has not been fully utilised.

According to him, when the audit is done, he will be vindicated.

He wrote “Parliament, since 2017, has approved the full budget requests for FSHS, so why should this be happening? I’ve long argued that the money we approve yearly to fund the implementation of the FSHS policy is not all used for the intended purpose. For this year, we approved GH¢2.7 billion. According to the finance Minister GH¢8.4bn was spent on FSHS in 7 years, from 2017 to 2023. I believe an audit of the FSHS policy will vindicate me”.