Audio By Carbonatix
The Deputy Education Minister has lashed out at the minority in parliament for questioning a 156 million dollar World Bank loan facility that will among other things finance scholarship schemes for some underprivileged Senior High School students.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the decision by the minority to criticise the loan facility without availing itself the right information was to say the least irresponsible.
The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Mr. Agyemang Manu at a press conference said the loan facility was an opportunity for the government to create loot and share.
He wondered why the government was seeking to create a transient scholarship secretariat to manage the scheme when a substantive secretariat existed and underfunded.
"The dubious part of the project is the allocation of 16 million for research, monitoring and evaluation.
"The deputy Education Minister said 40 per cent of the amount will go into supervising consultants.." Don't we have outfits at the ministry that monitors and supervises the provision of Educational Infrastructure?" Agyemang Manu questioned.
It is a "dishonest strategy to create avenue to siphon public funds," he alleged.
When the host of Joy FM's Top Story programme Evans Mensah confronted him with the details of what the 16 million dollars would be used for, Mr Agyemang Manu indicated that the MPs were not furnished with that information.
He accused the government of not being transparent saying, "When you are not transparent enough you create room for people to be suspicious."
He did not understand why the government would have to borrow money for monitoring and evaluation.
"If you had made all these things available to us in Parliament we would have done some serious scrutiny and voiced our opinions on this matter . Why do you give us room to begin to accuse you of suspicion before you begin to give this to media houses?" he charged.
But the Deputy Educational Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the opposition NPP goofed big time.
He accused them of shifting goal post.
"First it was that we were borrowing money to buy pads. I have noticed there is a major shift. They no longer refer to that. They appreciate that they have goofed big time and so they have shifted the goal post and are now talking about value for money.
He said if the minority members did not have enough information on the loan, on what basis were they accusing government of creating, looting and sharing.
"Is that what you would want to call a responsible opposition?" he jabbed.
He dismissed claims that they were creating another secretariat to administer the new scholarship programme.
He explained that a committee is being put in place to administer the scheme.
Latest Stories
-
Court fines trader GH¢12,000 for selling counterfeit Amuzu Bitters
23 minutes -
Daily Insight for CEOs: The CEO’s role in strengthening financial discipline
25 minutes -
Food vendor jailed seven years over human trafficking, prostitution
34 minutes -
When Man City call you don’t say no – Ndiaye
44 minutes -
Peter Mac Manu buries wife on Saturday
44 minutes -
Man found dead in open drain at Wa SSNIT Residence
47 minutes -
VIDEO: Watch Bright Simons and Kpessa-Whyte clash over SIGA report on SOEs
49 minutes -
EXPLAINER: Why Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s ‘past eight years’ comments have sparked controversy
59 minutes -
Ghana, Uganda deepen upstream petroleum cooperation through peer learning
1 hour -
Sam George opens Girls-In-ICT Open Day, urges girls to lead Ghana’s digital future
1 hour -
‘No matter where you hide, we will come for you’ – IGP warns criminals
1 hour -
Ghana, Burkina Faso deepen cooperation on Human Capital and AI
1 hour -
‘We have the spaces, but they don’t meet demand’ – Kofi Asare on SHS placement
2 hours -
SHS placement: Gov’t taking steps to address challenges – Education Ministry assures
2 hours -
Mrs. Alice Serwah Manu
2 hours