Senior lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS) Dr. Michael Adongo Ayamga says appointees of the Akufo-Addo-led government are motivated by what he described as the corrupt behaviour of the president and his vice to grab scholarship meant for the less privileged.
According to him, there is justifiable reason but greed why well-to-do and socially affluent people would apply and receive assistantship meant to aid the poor pursue higher education.
The president, who should whip them in line and ensure those who engage such acts are fished out and punished, he said, is himself neck deep in the canker and therefore, lacks the moral right to tackle it.
“It’s not that the people need it. It’s absolutely greed and these are people who quote the bible for every sentence they make. The motivation for this behaviour is coming from the presidency. It is an artefact of the transactional and corrupt behaviour of the president and his vice. I don’t have to mince words,” he stated.
The development economics lecturer was speaking in an interview on Breakfast News on Dreamz FM on the back of an investigation by The Fourth Estate that revealed scholarships geared towards helping the education of the brilliant but needy are being awarded to affluent and politically connected persons.
The investigation shows politically connected persons and their relatives including daughter of former National Chairman of the NPP and current board chairman of GNPC Freddie Blay, relative and personal assistant of the Second Lady Samira Bawumia and relative of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and president Nana Akufo-Addo among others have received scholarships while the needy are denied same.
Reacting to the development, Dr. Michael Ayamga called for the overhauling of the Scholarship Secretariat.
He argued that the scheme set up to aid the education of the brilliant but poor in Ghana has become a conduit for corruption and therefore, should be restructured.
“I think it should be disbanded. It has become a vehicle for corruption and an enabler of academic honest. It has become a vehicle for siphoning resources by highly placed individuals. We need to change the scholarship secretariat entirely, change the structure as it is now. It cannot be trusted to administer scholarship”.
