Former Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo has criticised the Scholarship Secretariat for being inefficient when it comes to its role.
According to him, it is worrying that the Secretariat lacks guidelines to determine who deserves scholarships and who does not.
This follows a report by The Fourth Estate uncovering instances where scholarships designated for financially disadvantaged students were awarded to successful politicians and their relatives.
Notably, the daughters of the former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a former Inspector General of Police were listed among the beneficiaries.
Speaking on JoyNews on April 8, 2024, Mr Domelevo said leadership could have used its discretion wisely.
“Remember, you are occupying a public office. You do not exercise discretion capriciously, and anyhow, you must make sure that you are doing your work and that you are objective in the delivery of your work.
“They should be able to look at a guideline or a manual that they have formulated after consulting the various stakeholders to say, ‘well, from our point of view, if you say you are gifted and needy, you must meet these conditions’,” Mr Domelevo added.
Mr. Domelevo stressed that even if the children of the rich and powerful are being provided for, it should not be at the expense of state funds.
“In our audit report, one of our concerns was that according to the law, the monies should be given to the Scholarship Secretariat for them to administer, but then GETFund was administering it themselves.
“I am told that has changed, so the money has been given to the Scholarship Secretariat, who, from my point of view, is administering scholarships 24/7.
“But if this is how they are administering scholarships, then they are a complete waste. It is better if we scrap it. Not just waste; they are useless.
“I wish I had a harsher word for them, because 24/7 that is what they do, and they have not been able to come up with any guidelines to determine who qualifies for this to ensure they are within the remit of the law,” he stressed.
This comes after the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Dr Kingsley Agyemang, advocated for swift legislation to streamline the distribution of scholarships in the country to address numerous misconceptions about the scheme.
He highlights the current challenge faced by officers in making decisions due to the absence of clear legislation defining who qualifies as a needy individual for a scholarship.
Source: myjoyonline.com
