The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region, Honorable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party administration of failing to clear several financial arrears plaguing Ghana’s education sector.
The National Democratic Congress lawmaker in a scathing rebuttal to what he perceives as deceptive propaganda from the ruling party against Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the party’s running mate called on Ghanaians to treat the accusation from the ruling party with the contempt it deserves.
“The deceptive NPP propagandists who are inviting the nation to a debate on fabricated arrears left behind by Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as Education Minister are dishonestly covering up the mountain of arrears they have created”.
Honorable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP North Tongu
Honourable Ablakwa began his rebuttal by highlighting what he described as the mounting financial burdens confronting the country’s education system under President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s administration.
Citing evidence from the Education Committee Report on the 2024 Budget Estimates, unanimously approved by Parliament, and additional petitions received, Honorable Ablakwa painted a dire picture of the state of the country’s education.
Touching on the issue of textbooks, the former Deputy Minister of Education under the erstwhile Mahama’s administration alleged that President Akufo-Addo’s administration owes publishers a staggering GHS225 million, representing 80% of textbooks supplied since it assumed power.
Furthermore, Honorable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa accused the New Patriotic Party administration of failing to pay its debt totalling GHS129.8 million it owed the West African Examination Council, placing further strain on the education budget.
He also lamented over the ruling government’s failure to pay its accumulated arrears in the 2023 Capitation Grant amount to GHS18.4 million, exacerbating financial challenges for several public basic schools in the country.
Additionally, Honorable Ablakwa chastised the New Patriotic Party administration for failing to pay utilities arrears of public secondary schools in the country, stressing that most secondary schools face the threat of mass disconnections as the government struggles to settle outstanding utility bills.
Beyond Honorable Ablakwa’s revelations contained in the 2024 Education Committee Report, he also underscored some additional grievances among key stakeholders in the country’s education sector which he noted that the current government has failed to address.
He mentioned that the current government owes School Uniform Suppliers a staggering GHS74 million, raising concerns about the sustainability of school uniform provision to students in public basic schools.
Commenting on the ongoing industrial dreadlock between the government and pre-tertiary teacher unions in the country, Honorable Ablakwa chastised the ruling government on its refusal to pay their Tier 2 Pensions, which he noted has sparked agitation among teacher unions, further straining labour relations in the education sector.
In addition, the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs alleged that despite recent demonstrations at the Buffer Stock Company, the government has not cleared all outstanding arrears to food suppliers, casting doubts on food security initiatives in schools.
Honourable Ablakwa’s impassioned indictment extends beyond the immediate concerns of arrears. He accused the governing New Patriotic Party administration of engaging in a politics of deception, attempting to deflect attention from its own records.
He asserted that the current government holds the infamous distinction of accumulating reckless debts and arrears, leading to economic instability and necessitating drastic measures such as debt exchange programs.
Honorable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa concluded by asserting the National Democratic Congress’s readiness, to expose the New Patriotic Party administration’s perceived financial mismanagement with armed and meticulously documented evidence.
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