Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
The Ministry of Education has firmly rejected allegations made by the Minority in Parliament regarding purported outstanding debts totaling over GHC6 billion owed to various entities involved in the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
The Minority caucus in Parliament had asserted that the government had neglected payment of GH₵300 million utilized for procuring GH₵1.3 million tablets under the “One Student, One Laptop” initiative. Furthermore, they claimed that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) was being owed GH₵224 million.
Responding to these claims, the spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng, dismissed the assertions as baseless and lacking in factual accuracy.
Kwasi Kwarteng refuted the alleged debt figure of over GHC6 billion, emphasizing that such claims did not align with the Ministry’s internal records or existing financial obligations to vendors, organizations, and individuals associated with educational initiatives.
In elaborating on the specifics of the debt claims, Kwasi Kwarteng highlighted discrepancies in the figures cited by the Minority, particularly in reference to outstanding payments related to the “One Student, One Tablet Initiative.”
He clarified that the government’s contractual agreements with suppliers involve staged disbursements based on performance benchmarks, indicating a structured payment process rather than lump sum settlements.
“Let me hasten to clarify that the said amount being owed by the Ministry of an excess of GHC6 billion, as claimed by the Minority in Parliament is not accurate.
The Ministry would have been more grateful if they had given more clarifications and details on where they had such figures from.
“Because from our records, we do not have such representations even in terms of the outstanding arrears we owe our vendors, organisations and individuals we work with.
“If you look at the claims made by the Minority, reference is made to the government owing the supplier for the “One Student, One Tablet Initiative”.
“But, clearly if you want to juxtapose that claim with the contract the government have with the supplier, at the end of the day, the distribution is in phases, so at every point, the government will pay based on performance,” Kwasi Kwarteng said.
By Vincent Kubi