Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu says government’s decision to tap into reserved oil revenue known as Heritage Fund to finance its free senior high school (SHS) policy would be fatal for Ghana’s future.
He said the use of the Fund, which is nine percent of Ghana's oil revenue, might compromise the safety of the country because it was set aside to serve as a buffer during challenging economic times.
“Education is key to development, key to eradicating poverty, [and] key to improving the employability of Ghanaians regrettably not on the use of the Heritage Fund,” he told Joy News Wednesday.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said it would use the Heritage Fund, which is one of three funds created by the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (815), to fund its flagship free SHS programme.
Addressing the 60th Anniversary of Okuapemman SHS at Akropong Akuapem last Saturday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said government would implement the policy coming September.
“By free SHS, we mean that in addition to tuition, which is already free, there will be no admission fees, no library fees, no science centre fees, no computer laboratory fees, no examination fees, no utility fees. There will be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals and day students will get a meal at school for free.
“Free SHS will also cover agricultural, vocational and technical institutions at the high school level,” he explained.
Days later, Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo in an interview with Joy News said government would use the Ghana Heritage Fund to finance the policy which is starting in the 2017/2018 academic year.
The decision has triggered sharp criticisms from opposition political parties and some civil societies who believe the purpose of the Fund would be defeated if government use it.
Section 10 of the PRM Act 815 states that, "A Ghana Heritage Fund is hereby established. (2) The object the Ghana Heritage Fund is to (a) provide an endowment to support development for future generations when petroleum reserves have been depleted; and (b) receive excess petroleum revenue. (3) The Ghana Heritage Fund shall receive from the Petroleum Holding Fund a percentage petroleum revenue which be determined by Parliament as savings for the purpose of this Act."
Mr Iddrisu who is a former Employment Minister said there is already prioritisation for education which is supported by the Ghana Education Trust Fund which receives 3.5 percent of Value Added Tax (VAT).
"If you make promises without weighing the magnitude you will be caught in the quagmire the NPP is making to Ghanaians," he said.
The NPP, he believes "did not thought through the programme" which explains the decision to use the Heritage Fund which he conceived as an "insurance against non-renewable."
Mr Iddrisu said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) would be looking forward to scrutinising the economic policies of government.
"It means that they have already given some indications that they may not be able to honor their campaign promises. We will monitor quite closely it is early in the day and disappointing too early for them not to be believed that they did not prepare for their promises," he said.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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Haryana,you had free education in the Northern Region.Cocoa farmers'never got the full benefit of so called Cocoa Board Scholarship. People who had never seen a cocoa pot benefit. Today if Kufour had found the oil for Ghana, and a proceed is going to be used to fund the education of all the children of Ghana, so that at least the people from the land where the oil is being produced can benefit, you sit in the comfort of your office and says no. We shall see.
Haruna must tell us what he his b0gus NDC govt achieved for Ghanaians for the past 8 years... They only borrowed money all over the world and shared among themselves. Empty barrels they say always make the most noise. This NDC party will remain in opposition forever.
There is nothing Bigger and Better to use part of the heritage funds than to offer Free Education up to senior high level. Do this people really understand the foundation it sets for the next 10years if we start now? If we don't challenge ourselves to be better than we were yesterday, how can we acquire knowledge and skills to do bigger things and be confidents. I will encourage Government to challenge it self positively in using a percentage of the heritage fund and be daring to look for other sources to support. We can't leave to the politicians to chop it and give us ***barred word*** talk knowing that there is nothing individual Ghanaians can do. This is the only way we can ensure that every Ghanaian can benefit from the oil resources. God Bless Ghana.
Please tell Woyome to pay his sika on time. This government will never be caught up in any quagmire please lets weigh our options. We will NOT borrow to be paying on interest bases just to fund free shs so if Heritage fund is not a borrowed money then lets use it. Parliament is representing we the general public. None of us have asked you to go and rebut this issue so please dont because we dont have any problem so far with this. BIG THANK YOU.
Heritage fund for which generation. Ndc will never support this idea but it is not ideal to take loans. Some of Ndc loans are now heritage debt. It not wise to go for loans to be paid by future generation. The money is meant for the students and they should start using it.
If this is fatal how will you describe the Woyome money ???
Ako, have you been in this world? Do you read? Didn't you hear Nana saying times without number that he intends using part of the Petroleum fund to finance secondary education in Ghana? Bawumia was right; you guys don't read.
Where do you get money as an MP to lease a private plane from Air Ghana to fly every weekend to your hometown just to dole out cash to the multitude of people waiting for you at your house? Where do you get that money to live that lavish lifestyle? The leasing records are available at Air Ghana, This previous govt will go down as the most corrupt govt in Ghana's history. I am appalled.
if the money is not used,it is the same politicians who will turn round and squander the money.Let's use it for all Ghanaians.
What is this man, Iddrisu, saying? Two years ago NDC wanted to use this Heritage Fund as part of the budget expenditure at that time. Asiedu Nketia was adamant that that fund ought to have been used for no other purpose, other than general spending. What a naivety? However if you think through what NPP want to do with this Heritage Fund, it does make sense. To lock the money up for posterity and for years to come, is an economic waste, for the opportunity cost involved needs to be considered too. Using the money to educate the young potentials of the nation is a noble thing to do. The Minister in charge will have to be given strict remit to discharge this duty. There must be constant oversight and reviews of the outcomes of the usage of the H Fund at all times. It should be recognised that if checks are relaxed it has the potential to be a financial blackhole for the implementers, and for sure, this will violate the sine qua non of the application of the fund- the consequence to NPP will be the erosion of trust and honest governance. Indeed capacity building from the lower reaches of social strata based on Heritage Fund must be strict and targeted and must have positive results for every family.It is this propinquity to ordinary Ghanaians that makes the govt in power achieve high putativeness, and NPP will never ever be forgotten by the citizenry of Ghana