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Dr Dennis Addo is by all indications an accomplished man. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Claron Hospital and co-founder of Bisa, an international award-winning health app.
His hospital, located on a quiet street in the affluent Airport Residential area in Accra, caters for some of the country’s elite with deep pockets.
He is apparently so good at what he does that he was appointed to the board of the National Health Insurance Authority from 2017-2020.
Dr Addo, by all indications, is not a poor man. He is not a man in need and he’s certainly not someone who is so desperate to further his education to boost his life chances.
Yet, when he decided to pursue a degree in Public Administration in Harvard University, it was the Ghana government, through its Scholarship Secretariat, that paid USD50,031 for his tuition and living expenses in the United States in 2019.
That money came from a fund meant to help needy, underprivileged Ghanaian students to further their education. But for his political connections and social privileges, it is hard to imagine how a man with Dr Addo’s credentials, not to mention wealth, could be classified as needy and eligible to access a government scholarship to the tune of USD50,031.
Dr Addo describes himself as a pioneer member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) students’ wing, TESCON. He recently contested in the NPP’s parliamentary primary at Atwima Nwabiagya South in the Ashanti Region but lost.
In addition to the government scholarship, Dr Addo was also awarded the Cheng Fellowship at Harvard in the course of his studies.
He did not respond to our email asking for comments.
While there is no explicit information on the financial benefits of Cheng Fellowship, Harvard University’s policy on fellows renumerations stipulates that “generally between $55,000 and $70,000” is paid “per year depending on experience and the nature of each Fellowship assignment.”
For his studies at Harvard, therefore, Dr Addo had two streams of financial support – one from the Scholarship Secretariat and the other from Harvard University. He was there for two years.
The Fourth Estate has found that Dr Addo is one of many politically-connected and social elites who have been competing with some of the country’s poor but brilliant students for funding from the Scholarship Secretariat. We could not reach him for a response.
Easy funding for the politically-connected, frustration for the needy
Many ordinary Ghanaians who apply for assistance from the Scholarship Secretariat have told us that they face a monumental hurdle in the shape of protocol lists that make it next to impossible for them to receive the support they need.
They had to compete with politicians, their relatives and associates, as well as socialites and diplomats.
After receiving numerous complaints from scholarship applicants, The Fourth Estate asked in March 2021 for data from the Scholarship Secretariat on those who have been awarded scholarships in 2019 and 2020.
The secretariat initially refused to grant the request, claiming the data was confidential. But the Right to Information (RTI) Commission ordered that personal information should be redacted and the data released. The Commission based its ruling on the premise that the scholarships were funded with public money.
The Scholarship Secretariat’s response to the RTI request showed that it had spent GHS237.5 million and GHS200 million in 2019 and 2020, respectively, covering both foreign and local scholarships.
The Scholarship Secretariat, an agency under the Office of the President, was established in 1960 with the primary purpose of providing local and foreign scholarships to academically gifted but financially needy students. Following the country’s liberation from colonial rule, the Nkrumah administration set up scholarship programmes as a means to incentivise and attract top talents to bolster the nation’s workforce by assisting citizens who lacked the financial means to fund their education.
In recent years, however, the secretariat has faced criticism for allegedly perpetuating patronage, often overlooking deserving applicants in favour of those with political and high society connections.
A major source of funding for the Scholarship Secretariat is GETFund. Section 2.2(b) of the GETFund Act requires the Scholarship Secretariat to allocate funds to support “gifted but needy students for studies in second cycle and accredited tertiary institutions in Ghana.”
In 2019-2020, the Scholarship Secretariat spent at least 291,480 pounds sterling (GBP), 146,502 US dollars (USD) and 7,685 Canadian dollars (CAD) on 20 influential individuals and the associates of the political elite.
For example, Gifty Oware-Mensah (née Oware-Aboagye), obtained a government scholarship of GBP18,450 to study at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom in 2020 to pursue an MSc in Development Policy and Politics. She was awarded the scholarship three years after she started working for the National Service Secretariat as Deputy Executive Director. In the same year, she acquired Berry Ladies FC, a female football club formerly known as Halifax Ladies FC, currently playing in Ghana’s women premier league.
When The Fourth Estate reached out to her on January 19, 2024, she denied receiving any scholarship.
“From 2019, my name has been Gifty Oware-Mensah. Let me call Kingsley [Agyemang] and get back. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me speak to them and get back to you.”
She later sent a text message that she was driving to Sunyani and would revert. Subsequent calls to her did not yield result.
Fawzy Ramadan, a relative and personal assistant to Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, was awarded GBP17,355 to cover the cost of tuition for an MSc in Global Supply Chain Management at Brunel University in the UK. However, Mr Ramadan never pursued the course because he claimed he was involved in an accident during the peak of COVID-19 and could not defer the course. Neither he nor the state benefitted in any way from the tuition fee paid to the Brunel University on his behalf. He said the school later wrote to him demanding the cost of accommodation from him when he had not stepped a foot on the university’s campus.
Then there is Michael Ofori-Atta Jr. The weight of political connections appears to have heavily favoured him, being a relative of President Nana Akufo-Addo and former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. In 2020, the Scholarship Secretariat paid the University of Birmingham GBP16,740 for Michael to enroll in a programme called the Foundation Pathways – Social Sciences, Business and Law. The university describes the course as a “pathway that will lead its students into a number of possible undergraduate degrees” within its College of Arts and Law or College of Social Sciences.
We could not reach him for a response.
If social media posts extolling the virtues of the NPP and some of its big wigs count for anything, then they certainly did for Celestina Amoako Atta. The NPP youth activist was granted a GBP27,980 scholarship to study for an MSc in Information Business Management and Digital Business at the Coventry University in the UK in 2019.
Ms Amoako Atta is currently an Assistant Administrative Officer at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
When The Fourth Estate disclosed the reason for reaching out to her during a phone call, she claimed she could not hear anything being said. She did not respond to subsequent calls.
According to data provided by the Scholarship Secretariat, a leading member of the NPP, Nana Poku Frefre was awarded a GBP28,080 scholarship to study for an MSc in Strategic Studies and Energy Security at the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom in 2019. Mr Frefre, who is a founding member of the NPP branch in Scotland, told The Fourth Estate that although he got the Scholarship Secretariat award, he opted for a much better one from GETFund.
He is now the Head of New Media for the Ashanti Regional NPP Communication team and an aide to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi-Bosiako, alias Chairman Wontumi.
Kelvin Ofori Gyimah joined the league of state-sponsored students in the UK in 2020 for a Master of laws (LLM) degree in International Human Rights Law at Brunel University at a cost of GBP17,355.
He is the current president of the NPP’s student wing (TESCON) in the UK.
Mr Gyimah is yet to respond to our requests for comment.
Amenyo Kwame Akoto is a Special Assistant to the then Member of Parliament for Mpohor, Alex Kofi Agyekum, received GBP17,355 for a Master’s programme in International Relations at the Brunel University in 2020. We could not reach him for comments.
If the curriculum vitae (CV) of Charles Asmah is anything to go by, then he was nowhere close to being a needy student when he received GBP28,380 for tuition and cost of living expenses during his studies for a Masters of Law degree in Legal Practice at the BPP University. At the time he secured the scholarship, his online resume showed that he was working as a finance and tax consultant at WhitePoplar UK Limited, and a lecturer at the College of Haringey also in the UK.
Mr Asmah is now a solicitor in the UK. Further checks showed that he has been living in the UK since 2008. He is also the NPP’s UK branch Treasurer.
He confirmed receiving the scholarship to The Fourth Estate. He, however, said he has been shuttling between the two countries. When The Fourth Estate asked if he was the Treasurer of the NPP in the UK, the line went mute, followed by shouts of “hello” from him, indicating he could not hear the question.
Just like Mr Asmah, Christine Ofosu-Ampadu has an impeccable resume. She is a private legal practitioner. She graduated with LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom and had a Bar Professional training education at Nottingham Trent University, also in the United Kingdom. She was called to the bar in New York in 2020. She worked as a crown prosecutor in the UK. With all these credentials she still needed USD6,570 from the Scholarship Secretariat to intern at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands in 2019.
Ms Ofosu-Ampadu confirmed in an email to The Fourth Estate that she received the funds for her internship.
Another lawyer, Amma Frimpomaa Dwumah, received USD12,200 for a certificate in programme Implementing Public Policy at Harvard University in the United States in 2019. Ms Dwumah was appointed Managing Director of SIC Saving and Loans in July 2017. Before that, she was a legal practitioner with Dery & Co, a law firm owned by the former Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery. She contested and lost the Sunyani West NPP parliamentary election earlier this year.
The Fourth Estate reached out to Amma Frimpomaa through her official email address but received no response.
Away from the legal gown, Raphael Patrick Sarfo is among the few who opted for professional development courses the state paid for. He received GBP5,995 for a course in Strategic Human Resource: Aligning with Corporate Vision. The Ashanti Regional NPP Youth Organiser attended Crown Agents Training and Professional Development in the UK in 2019.
When The Fourth Estate reached Mr Sarfo, he said thousands of people had benefited from similar scholarships and that he was not accountable to The Fourth Estate.
Children of the political & social elite.
In 2018, Nana Adubea Asante-Apeatu was in Ashesi University, one of Ghana’s most prestigious private universities, offering Computer Science. Ashesi is a distant dream for many Ghanaian parents because of its high fees and reputation for excellence. Many consider the university as the country’s version of an ivy league institution. The Computer Science programme at Ashesi cost GHS51,200 per semester now. But with a Ghana government scholarship, Nana Adubea, daughter of former Inspector-General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu, withdrew from Ashesi in 2019 and headed to the United Kingdom where she enrolled at the University of Aberdeen to study for a Bachelor of Law degree (with options in Computer Science). In 2019 alone, the state paid GBP27,480 for her tuition and living expenses.
In that same year, Zina Asante, daughter of actress and CEO of the National Film Authority, Juliet Asante, secured a place at Emmanuel College in the United States of America for a pre-medicine programme, costing USD41,026. The school described the course as “a launching pad towards a remarkable journey into the field of medicine.”
Zina was not the only beneficiary awarded a government scholarship to pursue a pre-med course. Nine others, including Araba Twumasi Mensah, the daughter of a former member of Parliament for Kwesimintim, Joe Mensah, also received funding for the same course. Miss Mensah took a pre-medicine course at the University of Oklahoma from 2019 to 2023. She got the scholarship at a time her father was a legislator. In 2019 alone, she received USD36,675 to cover her tuition and living expenses.
The reputation of a prominent politician and lawyer can effortlessly swing doors open for his children. It probably did for Adom Effah-Dartey, son of Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey, a leading member of the NPP, a former MP and a former deputy minister of Interior in the Kufuor administration. In 2019, Adom was awarded a scholarship to study for a Bachelor of Law degree programme at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The Scholarship Secretariat paid GBP19,130 for the course.
Lucie Blay Ekeleba is a practicing lawyer and a daughter of Freddie Blay, the board chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), a former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and until recently, the Chairman of the ruling NPP.
Her mother, Gina Blay, has been Ghana’s ambassador to Germany from 2017 to date. Her parents co-own the biggest private newspaper in Ghana—the Daily Guide. She received GBP5,933 to pursue a course that would qualify her to practice law in England and Wales. These funds went to the City University of London (GBP2,283) and Kaplan University College (GBP 3,650) in 2020.
Florence Akonor became Ghana’s High Commissioner to Malaysia in July 2022. Before then, she had received GBP4,037 for a programme known as the Executive Leadership in Action run by Crown Agents Training and Professional Development in the United States in 2020.
She is a career diplomat who has served in positions including head of chancery at the Ghana High Commission in India, Minister Counsellor at the Ghana Embassy in Ethiopia, Minister at the Ghana High Commissions in Canada and South Africa.
She confirmed that the Scholarship Secretariat sponsored the short course in the United States.
In the case of her peer in diplomacy, Mawutor N.K. Alifo, the state paid CAD7,685 for his Masters in Law programme at the University of Ottawa. Mr Alifo is a Foreign Service Officer who received the scholarship while in Canada. A year later, he acted as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada being the highest-ranking foreign service officer after the exit of the then High Commissioner, Nii Ayikoi Otoo.
Worthy investment?
The Scholarship Secretariat also invested 20,000 euros in a former Ashesi University student, Chelsea Naa Arday, to get a Master of Science degree in Luxury and Fashion Management at the Paris School of Business in 2019-2020. The beneficiary’s CV is not one that shows she is from a needy background.
Another 44,180 euros was spent on Innocentia Manza Norku, a former Systems Administrator at the Controller and Accountant General to pursue a Master’s in Food and Beverage Management at the College of Paris in France.
Discrepancies in criteria and guidelines
The GETFund Act, which makes funding available to the Scholarship Secretariat, explicitly stipulates that government scholarships are meant to support brilliant but needy Ghanaian students.
The Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Dr Kingsley Agyemang, insists that this provision merely means that the primary criteria for receiving a scholarship are for the applicant to have a Ghanaian citizenship and an admission offer to a local or foreign university. The award of the scholarship has nothing to do with need, he claims.
While rejecting suggestions that scholarships are being wantonly awarded to those who are well-connected to the political and social elite, Dr Agyeman implied that recommendations from powerful persons and offices sometimes influence the award of scholarships.
I have journalists and the media making recommendations for people. I also do know that we have chiefs and the clergy making recommendations for people. I also do know that I have politicians on both sides also making recommendations for people they believe deserve an award, he said.
“We live in a society where we are somehow connected in so many ways and it becomes difficult when we want to separate these little interactions.”
Despite Mr Agyeman’s insistence on the existence of selection guidelines, the Scholarship Secretariat failed to provide any document with such guidelines to The Fourth Estate. Repeated calls and Whatsapp messages requesting for the guidelines went unanswered.
Dr Clement Apaak, the deputy minority spokesperson on education, insists that using any criteria other than “brilliant but needy” to award scholarships, defeats the purpose of setting up the Scholarship Secretariat.
“When we bring in exclusive groups as being conduits through which scholarships can be given, then we are subjecting the process to abuse,” he said.
Prof Peter Quartey, the Director of Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), agreed with Dr Apaak and noted that relying on recommendations to assess need is not good enough.
“For the politically-exposed people, they are Ghanaians. They pay taxes. They should meet the minimum standards that are set and they should all be part of the process,” he said.
“If we have an independent committee or board that assesses every application, they will all be given equal opportunity. When politically-exposed persons want to apply, they can apply – except when there is influence and they are the ones who benefit most.”
Dr Apaak, however, insists that influential or politically exposed persons and their close relatives should not be eligible to apply for government scholarships.
He asserted that it was not for nothing that tax laws are designed to positively discriminate in favour of the poor and added that the needy also deserve their fair share of opportunities offered by the state.
He described the offering of scholarship to influential people, children of the affluent and their associates as a form of greed. This, he said, has the tendency to widen the inequality gap between the rich and the poor in society.
“It is in their own interest not to continue to be greedy and selfish, where they can afford to educate their wards and yet they choose to let their wards benefit from scholarship that should be going to the wards of the less fortunate in society,” Dr Apaak said.
“Society ought to be designed in a way that [we] would always sacrifice collectively to bring up those who are down.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story shall not be republished or broadcast, in part or in full, in any form or shape without the express permission of the Editor-in-Chief.
Watch out for part three of this story…
You can reach the writers via email at [email protected] and amedekudede@ gmail.com.
It’s very pathetic seeing some of these things and the question that i keep asking myself is why I’m a Ghanaian?
Well done THE FOURTH ESTATE. One of the best work this year.
Can you please check on the number of Ghanians on scholarship in Brunel University? Check where they are from and the programs they are doing. it will surprise you
H
mmm
I’m numbed right now.eiii Awurade Ghana is in downward path
With all these monies going out to people who have had enough yet look at the Ghanaian teacher’s plight.
I am sad
This has been the practice since 1992 till date. Both NDC and the NPP are beneficiaries of the National Scholarship scheme
and they paid 1192 ghs and 1400 ghs for only my second and third year tuition fee at UEW respectfully eii
So you’re a beneficiary?
that is not true ma brother
So what about those who are ordinary citizens who are not NPP and NDC. You justify corruption and looting of national coffers with this stupid logic. Shame on you.
SAD reality
It seems the cup fit you well, npp foot soldier. It is disheartening but you find it difficult to say your party is engaged in very corrupt practices. You find it quite convenient to add ndc and indicate that it has been in practice since 1992 because after all, that would lessen your guilt. Keep on, Mr hypocrite.
Is it your argument that NDC did not engage in similar practices?
NPP has on its own opinion, thrown away the explicit criterion for qualifying applicants for national scholarship stipulated in the Act establishing the GRTFund and the Scholarship, and to redefine it to mean NPP members, supporters, sympathizers and their relatives. This is a flagrant contravention of the Act and all such monies should be recovered. The scholarship finds are used to sponsor even people who are not even serving or working in Ghana. This is a flagrant abuse which not only cause financial loss to Ghana, but deprived the needy that the Act intends it for. This is criminal.
I now understand why people kill for power and public office in Ghana: to siphon public funds to cater for their self interests. But the ultimate question is: where will this exposé lead to? That’s my greatest interest.
With all these monies going out to people who have had enough yet look at the Ghanaian teacher’s plight.
I am sad
So you are justifying the NPP?
Commander Raphael Patrick Sarfo, the Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer has never pursued any course in the United Kingdom. Totally FALSE! What is his picture or name doing here?… Or this is yet again, another AGENDA from the Fourth Estate?
Really?..that’s some strong assertions you have raised
Enough of the sentiment. Provide evidence of your claim.
He who make the allegations must prove or?
Look at this wickedness. This government must surely leave power to reflect on their wickedness.
Sometimes you ask yourself are some people more human than others? A teacher seeking to upgrade him or herself have to pay huge sums of money with his or her merger salary. just to get Study Leave with Pay.
A lot of things on my mind.
SMH
hmmmmm
students in Ho Technical University applied for even students loan and they paid them ¢1200 to take care of school fees of ¢3200.
My brother, the problem with the Ghanaian is that the very people who need these scholarships and are not getting it are the very people following and supporting this thieves who call themselves politicians or democrats. It’s very sad that the ordinary Ghanaian does know his or her worth.
You are right. The fact is most of these political beneficiaries will not return to serve Ghanaians in places where their services are needed.
In this country called Ghana. Where only the privilege few must eat. And the rest to hell. I met two German ladies last week here in Accra. Their first time in Africa and GH for that matter to volunteer in the Volta Region in one of the less privileged hospitals. They said to me, we’ve seen you have everything in Ghana but all is only in few hands who are living large at the expense of others.
As for this country Ghana, I reserve further comments.
I think the writer could have stated the total number of all Ghanaians who received scholarships from the list they obtained from the scholarship secretariat to give us a better perspective on how many “brilliant but needy” students also received the scholarships aside from the few politicians the story focused on.
Also, the writer could have clarified if the government has a standard criteria for determining who’s brilliant but needy students. For example, if a brilliant student can afford to go to law school in Ghana or another university abroad but cannot afford Harvard Law School, Cambridge or Oxford and the student really wants to go to Harvard, Cambridge or Oxford, would this student qualify as a “brilliant but needy” because they can’t afford the school they really want to attend? I think providing a clear criteria for determining who is eligible to be classified as “brilliant and needy” can be helpful here.
Hi Emmanuel,
Thank you for reaching out. The challenge is that the Scholarship Secretariat has no guideline. We asked they didn’t give us except for the Registrar saying that the main criteria is to be a Ghanaian and have an admission letter. The details are in the story.
So that we can see the fairness in your research can you give us the numbers and names of people from 2008 till2016 and their affiliation
We indicated why we focused on 2019-2020 in the story. The reason is in the story and justified. Please read
You asked? You couldn’t conduct research? What kind of journalism are you practicing then? Should you not go further to probe documents? This excuse is half ass man. When do we keep giving one sided picture of things? At least be fair as you’d want the secretariat to be
if you are not needy and you are from a rich family and working in high positions and you can afford Ashesi , Legon or GIMPA but you still want to go to Harvard. this is what we call living outside your means. Go to Harvard with your own money.
the fact that the 5th richest man in the world cannot afford what the leading richest man in the world can afford does not mean the 5th richest man should be given funds to do so. live within your means, theres a difference between needy and greedy. this is the clear criteria when we mean brilliant but needy. but instead they are going by rich but greedy!!
I can’t believe this. it is greed.
I found myself chuckling when reading, all the while feeling a surge of anger welling up from deep within. Still in processing my disbelief. The rot is deeper than we see, it seems.
The corrupt are looting the state coffers to educate their wards abroad to come and replace them and further deepen the corruption. Then they’ll suggest the regular Ghanaian is lazy and does not work hard. For me the hipocrisy of the West, where so long as corrupt funds end up with their educational institutions, they’re ok remains baffling. Money laundering a la education.
I am a duaghter of nobody but I’m also here in the UK studying Msc Information Technology
I can attest to the fact that , I didn’t pay a penny before I was given the scholarship. I applied and went through the normal process and I was given. It is when NPP government came into power before I knew there was something called Ghanaian Scholarship and I am very grateful to GSS and government as a whole. God richly bless you and may you continue to reign to bring out the best especially in the youth. Onyankop)n Nhyira mo. Dr Kingsley Agyemang, God bless you abundantly. Your passion, love and insight for empowering we the youth is above imagination. God richly bless you ????.
You’re a liar and an NPP foot soldier
And you’re? You would’ve wished she had said she applied but didn’t get. Her response is not what you wished for, hence the name calling. And as an ‘NPP foot soldier’ she should be denied scholarship even if she qualified
This Ghanaian Scholarship has been in existence for a long time, and of course some poor people got it before this Government came to power it still continues.
The issue here is children of influential, rich and politically connected people being awarded what is meant by the poor. There are a lot more brilliant but poor people walking around who need.
It is not referring any political regime. Stop making the whole issue political.
You may be a daughter of nobody but politically or influentially connected to somebody. Nobody is saying the scheme is not working but it’s being largely given to the well to do and whom I know rather the brilliant but needy is the problem at hand now.
Your praise for the npp shows what you represent. I’m surprised you’re reading MSc because you’re not even able to conceal your identity as an npp footsoldier even as that was your intention. It was sad you got the scholarship for ‘bright and needy’ even as you’re not bright.
good for you. but anyone who has chased this scholarship will tell you 1. you wont even know when the scholarships closes or opens. 2. the interviews, you wont even be called for. 3. for GSS, not all the schools are on the application portal but yet we find people going to schools that are not listed, for example Harvard. 4. the list goes on and on and I can continue.
the point is, only 1% of scholarships are awarded to students with no connection and these students would have to pick schools that are on the GSS list . the rest of the 99% can go to any school they want because of their influence. and also the rest of 99% would have no interviews. and out of that 99% with influence, 29% will pay between 8-10k pounds using their pocket money as influence (if you can pay this you are not needy). the remaining 70% will use their position in power and big connections as influence (if you control the system then you are not needy).
People assume that politicians ought to be rich. This very notion places pressure on good politicians to become corrupt. In a not-so-long-ago interview that was aired on Joy News Live, the interviewer said, “You have been issuing scholarships to politicians, friends, and so forth.”
So who should human beings befriend? Okay, it should not be their fellow humans, right? Realistically, how many of us here and in this world right from our infancy have been righteous, law-abiding, perfect in all moral circles? These guys go do aa, and nobody would want to help anybody out there. Let’s reason here:
It is possible that a politician has good integrity, does not earn much, and therefore cannot afford to pay their child’s fees abroad. If their child meets the standards set by GSS, why should they be excluded from the list? The word needy means someone who is in dire needy of something. It does not necessarily mean the poor and it does not exclude the rich. If Mr. A is rich and has invested his money in projects that will take a decade to mature and he has a vision to pursue a course overseas and has paid more taxes out of his business coffers more than you and I, tell me between you and him who deserves to benefit more from his taxes? We think in 2D and not even in 3D or 4D. Leave people be. People want peace. The world is getting filled with hate and dissent. Can nobody out there talk about a good thing or two any government – be it NDC or NPP – have done? Only negative news, why?
Further, if the politician falls within the category and does not have money to pay his/her own fees, should they be excluded from the list?
We should be very careful about assumptions and the holier-than-thou attitude so that we do not become a society devoid of logic, filled with pulling each other, or one another, down.
I met a lady from the Northern Region who told me how she got her scholarship, and she is from the Northern Region, and not from Hon. Dr. Kingsley Agyemang’s hometown or region. She passed through the test and was interviewed by the boss himself. This lady said: “I did not know that this man was so caring and objective and compassionate. He did not ask me out or even ask for money. He allowed the system to work.”
Now, why are these good feats not being talked about in the media, and all that propagandists want to spread out there is negative news?
During this man and his team’s tenure, the youth have been empowered in ways many people fail to comprehend.
We pray that government gives him the full support he needs to even do better.
People like you, are the problem of Ghana. You have sold your conscience for coins. How much were you paid to come spit defence here. Bow your head to shame. People like you have failed Ghana and Africa.
And people like you, have done well for Ghana and Africa. Pathetic.
You have a point in your submission but it is a flawd one… go back and check what or who the scholarship scheme discribed as NEEDY..
Them match it against all the people listed in the write-up; their financial statuses and credibility and come again.
How would one wants to argue that the children of these prominent people and individuals, in the likes of former IGP – Appiatu, Freddie Blay: the chairman of GNPC who’s wife an ambassador, Gifty Oware-Mensah, then DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DRICTOR (NSS), and all listed in the write-up are a NEEDY POEPLE???
please let’s not do this to ourselves as a people in a country such as GHANA…
Fourth Estate has failed to let us know if they qualified per requirement or not.
So do you think someone like Celestina who obtained scholarship and completed her studies before gaining job at GNPC doesn’t deserve it becomes she bears the name Amoako Atta .
Nothing is against any citizen who is fortunate to be awarded scholarship. After all those pictures you have put up there are back with the knowledge acquired to help mother Ghana.
In the first place are they Ghanaians?
Secondly which year did Ashanti regional youth organiser get a scholarship to study in UK?.
This is a shame a reckless publication. Do your checks well before you publish lies about others
Wondering if their Educational Degrees acquired will ever benefit Ghana from the Uselessness of the so called Educated Buffoons we’ve seen in this NPP Government, claiming they have the Men?
Sincerely, I’ve got no affiliation with any gov’t official.
I went to through the application processes successfully before i was awarded the scholarship so your publication is not entirely true.
Then again, is it a crime for public office holder to be sponsored to pursue further studies?
Ghana is not a poor country but the politicians have made the Country poor through their so many unproductive actions.
The same people will say some people can pay for shs and so let’s revise it so that those who can pay are allowed to pay and I am sure Manasseh you are one of those proponents so from this you see people just talk, from your own analysis you think they can pay and don’t need the scholarship but you see what is happening, the same thing would have happened to the free SHS
Even scholarships meant for the poor are being given to the rich yet these same foolish poor are calling for a review of free SHS. waaa take a look at these people and point just one person who is poor. I can’t think far.
This is quite sarcastic and lugubrious; the opportunities that these disadvantaged people deserved are being denied to them and handed to the rich. What a pitiful country!
This epitomizes why we are a failed state and a failed people
Hmmmmm, in a country called Ghana. Well done to you for bringing this rot out. But this practice has been going on for a long time. Try calling the contact of the Scholarship Secretariat and you will know what is going on there.
please Editor, go for information on the period scholarships were given UNDER JM so we get to know how ABLAKWA AND CO ALSO HELPED MILK THE NATION…
WE ARE WAITING
With this Kind of reasoning Ghana is indeed doomed!!! can’t we call a spade a spade? equalization and all these don’t help our development in any way shape or form. Imagine the current government or any other government is cited for human right abuses and the best your poor self can do is to ask PDNC or AFRC did worse?????
Common now, can we no use our brains and be objective for once as a people. bad roads, no hospitals bed, no power and all doesn’t know party colours. lets reason above this myopic thinking and think for the good and betterment of Ghana.
When I see people make comment which suggests the practice also happened in the NDC government, what do they really sort to communicate, the NPP coming to power accused the NDC of corruption and mismanagement, so if there are instances of such in their own tenure, they should be made to face some consequences.
But it seem to me the only consequence for bad governance is being voted out of office. It takes less than ours to fulfill a corrupt agenda, but people have fours years to take a decision.
It’s incredulous to suggest that Commander Raph ever attended courses in the UK.
I find it hard to believe that Commander Raph has any record of courses in the UK.
The assertion of Commander Raph attending courses in the UK appears unfounded and misleading.
Commander Raph’s alleged UK courses lack authenticity and raise serious doubts about their credibility.
The claim of Commander Raph’s participation in UK courses lacks credibility and should be thoroughly investigated.
Kindly direct this to the Scholarship Secretariat.
It seems you are just repeating the same idea in different words rather than explaining that idea, sir. It would be of great help if you can explain your assertion with some evidence though. I sincerely hope you are speaking the truth.
sad criminals have taken over the country
Do they qualify per the requirements as stipulated or not? Are they also Ghanaians? This so-called fourth estate must serious for once. Why are you picking and choosing the beneficiaries? If you want to be fair in your publication of beneficiaries then kindly do us the honour to publish all beneficiaries and stop this kind of sensational publication to cause disaffection for well-deserving beneficiaries.
We will publish a full list. This is an editorial decision.
Well noted. Thanks in advance
Hitherto, you hear of the name of the scholarship secretariat only when some few Ghanaians who were awarded scholarships get stranded after government fails to pay for their school fees and stipens. Today, the story has be redefined by one industrious and intelligent young man, Dr. Kinsley Agyemang. There is an overwhelming majority of genuine needy and brilliant students who have had the opportunity to study both at abroad and at home without any financial hicups from the government. We are having this discussion here because a certain Kingsley has been able to create soo much opportunity for all, both the rich and the poor. We all combine to build Ghana.
If indeed there is a God may he punish these people and their generations for doing this , may they rot before they die
Your credibility status is dented right now because I know the Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer personally and he hasn’t taken any course in the UK ever.
It is not The Fourth Estate saying. It is the data from The Scholarship Secretariat clearly indicating beneficiaries.
This clearly looks like an agenda cos why pick and choose certain beneficiaries to publish and leave the rest? You’re saying these are the only beneficiaries since 2019 or whenever you decided to dig from?
Your agenda aside, you’re liars too…. because I know for a fact the Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer has never done a course in the UK. Be Serious!
You know for a fact? On which authority do you speak?
Some of you are just another national disaster
Hmmmmmmm and just last 3 days on News 360 those on a French program were complaining that their stipend has not been paid Oooooo and food to it kwra, Hmmmmmmm, where have we gone wrong as citizenry ooooooooo, we voted for you people and this, hmmmmm
Really? Then I haven’t been following current affairs lately. But why should this be?
If the foreign scholarships are providing these exposé can we try the local scholarships too?
I think one criteria to win scholarship under this government is to be connected politically else just go and sleep.
In 2018, my friend and I applied for a scholarship at the secretarie for a school in Hungary. We were told to stay calm cuz we will surely be selected. On the final day, we were told our names had been removed from the final list. Now I work in construction with a dream of studying MSc in Policy Development shuttered!
Any country available to host those of us who are not into politics. I think we will naturalize for that country.
This is really beyond my imagination. Poor farmers children are bleeding to get scholarship to further their education. Where from these richmen children. Ahh.
How was Cocoa Board Scholarship disburse in Ghana? What does the publication seeks to achieve? Are the beneficiaries not Ghanaians?
ei ????. What is our crime as Ghanaians. Dear leaders please tell us so that we will apologize accordingly. You see all these names? 8-10 years from now, they will come to Ghana and fight over political seats and oh yes, Kwame Atta’s son will campaign and shed blood for them.
This report is incomplete and biased! What is the total number of beneficiaries? What proportion are politically connected? Why this selective approaching? Please let us understand your objectives and methodology.
You must do better next time.
Naaaa! Ghana is a crime scene! I know it has always been like this but the guys in power now have no shame! They just overdoo everything! Haaaa
We apply for schools in Europe and other places and they give us admission and scholarships for free, but when we apply to our own scholarship secretariat then they ask us to pay. Corruption everywhere in Ghana.
The breadth of knowledge compiled on this website is astounding. Every article is a well-crafted masterpiece brimming with insights. I’m grateful to have discovered such a rich educational resource. You’ve gained a lifelong fan!
Well done Fourth Estate. I believe we can collect these monies from such individuals under the law of “false pretense” to wreck the public purse. They should pay these monies with interest. why are rich suppressing the poor and relegating them into gutters?
The same situation happened with the CMB scholarship. Cocoa farmers were not benefiting. Why, why, God is watching ooo!
Fouth Estate kindly contact me on [email protected]
It’s such a shame that the most affluent people in society that can afford all these fees are the same people getting scholarships meant for brilliant but needy people in society. Where is Ghana heading too. Politics has clouded the minds of the individual and now look at where we are as Ghanaians. Ain’t we ashamed to even call this shithole a county. God have mercy on the needy one’s like us. Very sad
Plain greed and selfish interest playing out here. Ironically you going to have these same individuals who would complain bitterly and try to connect deserving awardees to someone on the other side of the divide. When it’s them and their cohorts, it’s all well and good when it goes to right beneficiaries then all hell must break loose. Shameful!! smh
ANIMAL FARM IN A BANANA ???? AND SPINACH REPUBLIC. THIEVES IN AN INDIRECT STEALING. FROM GHANAIANS
ANIMAL FARM IN A BANANA ???? AND SPINACH REPUBLIC. THIEVES IN AN INDIRECT STEALING. FROM GHANAIANS
Manesseh, check what is happening at THE GHANA ENTERPRISES AGENCY. Check who the beneficiaries of the World Bank funds for SMEs are. Large well established organizations are getting funds supposed to be used for small businesses…Allegedly.
I called one of the supposed beneficiaries of an over GHC 300,000 world bank grant from the GHANA ENTERPRISES AGENCY. He couldn’t tell me how long the whole process took because he just sat in his office and the money was paid to him. It is alleged that there is serious connivance between some Agency members and Business owners, who put in the application, get approval and people get their percentage. Cool dirty money. All the while, the real businesses that need the funds are struggling.
For you to receive such scholarship in Ghana, you should have an social elite or strong political background. So sad.
Since when did the 4th estate deemed it necesary to find the relationship between beneficiaries of government scolarships: Do you remember when Nkrumah instituted CMB scolarship the majority of the benefitiaries where people who had not seen a pod of cocao.before, even ministers secured scolarships to pursue their education at the expense of nation.;ask the Ablakwah’s how the did it, and you understand the system.
sad nation,
How can you give scholarship to someone to practice law in a different country ????
Where is the truth
NPP has on its own opinion, thrown away the explicit criterion for qualifying applicants for national scholarship stipulated in the Act establishing the GRTFund and the Scholarship, and to redefine it to mean NPP members, supporters, sympathizers and their relatives. This is a flagrant contravention of the Act and all such monies should be recovered. The scholarship finds are used to sponsor even people who are not even serving or working in Ghana. This is a flagrant abuse which not only cause financial loss to Ghana, but deprived the needy that the Act intends it for. This is criminal.
Hmmm.
I remember I nearly got depressed because I applied for a scholarship in my hometown under the scholarship secretariat to pursue my masters. In fact I was so optimistic because I had all the requirements and my district had only few students.
I had graduated finished service and not having a job with my degree so I wanted to try doing masters to increase my chance of getting a job.
In the end I never had it, I was able to get a contact there to inquire about it and I was told there was no fund. I kept calling and my school account and it was never paid.
I lost hope, I cried but nothing came up if not for some good friends who came through for me and with my hard work.
Despite all these struggles I am still yet to land a job after my masters.
I sometimes regret not investing the little I saved for a business and rather investing it in masters.
Kingsley is an **** and when, how and where did he receive a doctorate, and in what. Guess he bought his PhD online using scholarship Secretariat funds.
Not mentioned are the kickbacks he receives from awardees which has made him very rich to buy the parliamentary seat in Akyem and accumulate properties.
I am calling on the special prosecutor to investigate this crook and the source of his wealth in 7 years of being in office
Interesting!
I still can’t imagine that what is meant for the less privileged is been hijacked by these rich people. Is it ever gonna be right in Ghana?
So it means Ghana is having all these monies to waste?
let’s leave politics aside and accept the reality. it is the absolute truth. that, you must be highly connected in Ghana to enjoy most if not all of these privileges and rights that the Ghanaian should have. Ghana, our motherland.
Great job. Could you provide a global table of (1) applicants, (2) applicants who received grants, (3) political or social exposure, (4) course applied for, (5) amount disbursed.
If you have any comments against any of the applicants, you can append as done above. An objective list will prevent any accusation of political bias.
Great job indeed.
We will do that next week
This is one of the bad sides of education! Education ought to help solve societal problems! One of the biggest societal problems is poverty which the UN aimed to eradicate. Yet, those from poor background are rather still made worst off. I am a victim! I struggled to pay for my own MPhil in Medical Microbiology. I am currently struggling again to fundr my PhD in the same program, yet others are having double scholarships!
Its so pathetic. The way most of our institutions are structured gives room for corruption, it actually encourages corruption. We put ourselves at the mercy of people’s discretion, its like we expect every person to be a good person. No proper checks and balances for state institutions. For now, the minority is there making all the noise they possibly can, because they know most Ghanaians are gullible; lets wait till power changes hands. Which constitution are they going to rule the country with, is it not the same as this current corrupt government is using?
it’s really sad and Ghanaians must learn lessons out of this. I suggest they are made to refund the monies or given part of it.