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The Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak has questioned what he says is a “frivolous expenditure” on 13 officials of the National Service Scheme to a training programme to the United States of America.

It has emerged that an amount of GH¢1.6 million was spent on the 13-man team who were at the Massachusetts Technical Institute (MTI) for Ghana Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme ((G-REAP) on the four-day training workshop.

The said amount is made up of GH¢1.3 million as programme fee and GH¢300,000 for travel, boarding and lodging expenses of the team.

The REAP is a capstone global initiative which helps regions accelerate economic growth and promote social progress through innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh in a Parliamentary question posed to him by Mr Mubarak said the team was made up of representatives from the various youth agencies including the National Youth Authority, Youth Employment Agency, the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme amongst others.

Justifying the expenditure, Dr Opoku Prempeh said the two- year programme will equip the trainees to impact what they have learnt for the development of the various youth programmes.

But an unsatisfied Mubarak told journalists in Parliament that the expenses does not depict value for money.

He said universities in Ghana organise leadership programmes in governance and for a 13-man team to spend that amount in four days in what could be cheaper here in Ghana is not a fair way of spending our money.

“It is scandalous that the NSS which is struggling to pay the allowances of service personnel can come up with US$300,000 for a three-day programme in the United States of America,” he lamented.

He said the spending leaves many questions begging for answers adding that the expenditure needed to be probed.

“The bottom line of my argument is that not only is the expenditure frivolous and cannot be justified but the training hasn’t given any benefit to the NSS,” Ras Mubarak submitted.