By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, July 17, GNA–Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament, has decried the acts of corruption, cronyism, nepotism and wastefulness that have characterised the award of government scholarships in the country over the years.
He noted that in the past government scholarships had often been given to the children of the political elites, chief executives of state institutions and senior public servants at the expense of the poor parents’ children.
Therefore, he said, the Ghana Scholarships Authority Bill, 2025, was aimed at enacting a legislation to rectify or cure the injustices and corruption that had plagued the award of government scholarship in the country.
Mr Ayariga, also the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, while contributing to the debate on Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, urged the legislators of both side of the House to support the passage of the bill into law, to sanitise the award of government scholarship and ensure that deserving students receive it.
The Bawku Central legislator indicated that the new scholarship law would award government scholarship to only courses that were not available in any of the local universities.
The object, he said, was to curtail wastefulness where funds were paid by Ghana government to foreign universities for Ghanaian students to study there while those courses were being offered in Ghanaian universities.
Mr Ayariga also urged the House to support a provision in the bill that required the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection to be part of the board of the Ghana Scholarship Authority to aid in ensuring gender balance in the award of government scholarship.
Mr Alexander Afenyo- Markin, the Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, threw his full support towards the passage of the new scholarship bill into law, noting that the legislation would serve the interest of the good people of Ghana.
GNA
Christian Akorlie