Free SHS: Government denies owing companies and individuals GH₵6bn- Education Ministry

The Ministry of Education has rejected accusations from the Minority in Parliament that the government owes over six billion Ghana Cedis to organizations and individuals involved in the Free Senior High School policy.

The Minority caucus claimed that the government has failed to pay over GH₵300 million for the procurement of 1.3 million tablets under the “One Student, One Laptop” initiative.

They also alleged that the government owes GH₵224 million to the West African Examinations Council.

In response, Kwasi Kwarteng, the spokesperson for the Education Ministry, dismissed these claims as baseless.

“Let me hasten to clarify that the said amount being owed by the Ministry of an excess of 6 billion Ghana Cedis, 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”.

Kwasi Kwarteng further clarified that, “If you compare that claim with the government’s contract with the supplier, it’s evident that distribution is done in phases. Consequently, payments are made according to performance at each stage.”