The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament has demanded the immediate interdiction of the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat following an investigative report by the Fourth Estate into his conduct.
The report alleges that scholarships, intended for deserving and academically excellent students in need, were instead granted based on political affiliations and other inappropriate criteria.
According to the Fourth Estate’s investigation spanning 2019 to 2020, individuals linked to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) were reportedly given preferential treatment in the scholarship awards.
One NPP official allegedly received multiple scholarships totalling £57,210 for postgraduate studies, while a Special Assistant to the Vice President’s spouse purportedly obtained £17,355 for a programme in the UK, which they allegedly never attended.
In light of these revelations, the minority MPs are demanding the immediate resignation of Kingsley Agyemeng, the registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat.
They are also calling for a prompt investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor into the operations of the Secretariat.
The Minority’s statement emphasizes that these findings have been corroborated by testimonies from Ghanaians both domestically and internationally.
“The series of investigations by the Fourth Estate have since been corroborated by other patriotic Ghanaians, both home and abroad. Many have cited instances of extortion, bribery and collection of kickbacks allegedly involving the Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang, and other officials.
“Other first-hand chilling accounts of our compatriots who have reached out to the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat for help, reveal wanton corruption and gross abuse of office by these officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government,” part of the statement read.
The Minority also called on President Akufo-Addo to act swiftly to protect the public purse from further abuse.
“Widespread reports of multiple scholarships worth several thousands of dollars, sometimes awarded to the same individuals in the same year, reveal the extent of abuse of the taxpayers’ money. Worst of all, it has been reported that these awards are sometimes handed to NPP-aligned persons for two-week training programmes abroad, in return for some kickback.
“In light of the above revelations and others which will be contained in details of the over 900 foreign scholarships awarded between 2019 and 2020, yet to be published by the Fourth Estate, the NDC Minority Caucus in Parliament hereby demands the following urgent actions:
1. The immediate interdiction of the Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang, pending investigations into its operations.
2. The Special Prosecutor must order an immediate forensic audit of all scholarships awarded since January 2017. We call on President Akufo-Addo to act swiftly in this matter in order to protect the public purse from further abuse,” the statement added.
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