Free education must kick in as scheduled

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

For an opposition political party whose most significant spending of the taxpayer’s money while in government had to do with the payment of judgment debts, it comes as absolutely no surprise at all to hear the key operatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) virulently decry the public hinting by Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the Senior Minister at the Presidency, that the Akufo-Addo-led government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is exploring the possibility of whether to tap into the set-aside Heritage Fund for purposes of funding the proposed tuition-free Senior High School (SHS) education which is set to begin in the 2017-18 academic year come September (See “Free Education is Possible if We Stop Buying V 8s – Samuel Atta-Mensah” Ghanaweb.com 2/15/17).

The fact of the matter is that even if the Akufo-Addo Administration resorted to tapping into the Heritage Fund, which has been earmarked for the children of today and posterity, this source of funding would only be a drop in the bucket, as the National Democratic Congress’ governments led by President John Evans Atta-Mills, late, and President John Dramani Mahama, over the course of the last 8 years consistently violated the legislatively approved formula by which one-fourth of all revenue generated from the mining of the oil resources of the country was to be deposited into a reserved account for the benefit of the next generation of Ghanaian citizens and the latter’s successors.

And so rather than vituperatively lambaste President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his cabinet for constructively suggesting the use of the Heritage Fund, what concerned critics ought to be talking about on the sidelines, but not necessarily on the margins, of this controversy is the abysmal failure of the two aforementioned National Democratic Congress’ governments to hold onto their part of the agreement.

By logical extension, what I am clearly suggesting here is that the NDC operatives have absolutely no moral credibility and/or authority to presume to haughtily lecture the Akufo-Addo Administration on its right or the lack thereof vis-à-vis the proper use of the Heritage Fund. Did I hear somebody call it “The Heritage Fraud”?

Technically speaking, there is absolutely no such thing as the Heritage Fund, because the leaders of the National Democratic Congress, over the past 8 years, never demonstrated the requisite respect and commitment for the integrity of the existence of the same.

Which is why, to-date, the Fund contains far less than a fourth of what it ought to be holding in reserve for our future generations, because the NDC apparatchiks preferred to thievishly line their wallets and pockets with most of this set-aside money earmarked for the children of today and their children and grandchildren. Such monies, as ought to be reserved for the collective use of posterity have gone to service judgment debts, that is, largely pay for the abject fiscal irresponsibility and the gross administrative ineptitude of our present leaders.

So far, the Akufo-Addo government has also hinted that it intends to avail itself of resources accrued to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the GETFund or set-aside funding for public education in the country, which was established by the Rawlings government in the 1990s. We shall return to this most critical subject in a future column.

For now, however, I wanted to heartily reach out and commend Mr. Samuel Atta-Mensah, Manager of the Accra-based Citi-Fm Radio, for instructively pointing out the fact that if our politicians disciplined their inordinate taste for the profligate spending of the taxpayer’s money in the reckless purchasing of expensive 4-wheel drives, which they then almost immediately turn around to sell to themselves at giveaway prices, and for their exclusively personal and private use, maybe there would be enough money left in the national kitty to nobly support the future well-being of today’s children.

English Department, SUNY-Nassau
Garden City, New York
February 19, 2017
E-mail: [email protected]

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs