The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has finally published a list of beneficiaries of its scholarship program, following a deferred response to a formal Right to Information (RTI) request by JoyNews.

The request, originally made by the Head of the Research Desk at The Multimedia Group, Raymond Acquah, sought comprehensive details on GNPC-funded scholarships granted to both local and foreign institutions since the program’s inception.

The information requested included:

1. A full list of beneficiaries who received GNPC-funded scholarships to foreign institutions, including the year of selection, institutions attended, courses pursued, scholarship amounts awarded, and the criteria used for selection.

2. A detailed list of beneficiaries awarded GNPC-funded scholarships to local educational institutions within Ghana, with similar details provided as in the first request.

3. Clarification on the total annual expenditure attributed to GNPC-funded scholarships, both for foreign and local institutions, up to the present date.

In response, GNPC’s Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration), Benjamin Kweku Acolatse, acknowledged receipt of the request in a letter dated April 30, 2024.

However, citing Section 22 of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), GNPC indicated that access to the requested information would be deferred.

Section 22 of Act 989 allows public institutions to defer access to information if it is scheduled for publication within ninety days of the request or if it has been prepared for submission but not yet submitted.

GNPC stated that the deferral was necessary to allow the GNPC Foundation sufficient time to compile a comprehensive list for publication on their official website, which was under construction at the time.

Despite the publication not fully meeting the RTI request, GNPC has now posted the names of beneficiaries, the year of award, and the programmes of study on its official website.

The list, however, does not include all the detailed information initially requested by The Multimedia Group.

The published list can be accessed on the GNPC Foundation’s website.