Osman Abdulai Ayariga
By Stanley Kwabla Arku
Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress Osman Abdulai Ayariga has urged the Special Prosecutor to examine all suspected instances of misconduct and related violations unveiled by The Fourth Estate’s recent inquiry into the Scholarship Secretariat’s scholarship allocation.
The investigation by The Fourth Estate discovered that scholarships were given to prominent individuals, as well as the offspring, relatives, and acquaintances of influential figures. This goes against the primary aim of the Scholarship Secretariat, which is to provide scholarships to academically gifted but financially underprivileged students.
Initially, The Fourth Estate was refused access to the list of beneficiaries by the Scholarship Secretariat in March 2021. However, they persisted and appealed to the Right to Information (RTI) Commission.
The RTI Commission favoured disclosure, emphasizing the importance of transparency as the scholarships are funded with public funds. However, it was specified that personal details must be redacted before releasing the data. The Scholarship Secretariat’s response to the RTI request revealed that it had allocated GHS237.5 million and GHS200 million in 2019 and 2020, respectively, for both local and foreign scholarships.
In a petition to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Ayariga expressed the need for a comprehensive investigation into the actions of the Registrar and affiliated personnel of the secretariat concerning the scholarship awards. He stressed the urgency of probing these issues to prevent any future misuse of resources.
“I urge that the Registrar undergo investigations and be required to step aside pending the investigation’s results to avoid any interference with the investigative process,” Ayariga stated. Read petition below:
