[ 2017-02-16 ]

Kwame Jantuah,Vice chairman of the Public Interest And Accountability Committee

Using heritage fund for free SHS ludicrous idea – Kwame Jantuah
Vice chairman of the Public Interest And
Accountability Committee (PIAC) Kwame Jantuah says
a proposal by government to finance its free
education policy with the heritage fund is
preposterous.

He said the fund was set up to support the country
when its oil reserves are depleted, hence using it
for anything apart from what the law provides will
not inure to the benefit of the country.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr
Jantuah said “I thought it was a ludicrous idea
to do that. The Heritage fund is there primarily
to be able to have money when the oil resources
have been depleted.

“...Let’s look at the oil revenue itself,
between 2010 and 30 June 2016, how much money have
we made? We’ve made only $3.3 billion within
that duration, what was the cost of education last
year, it was GHS7.5 billion, when you compute it.
Does it make sense, is it sustainable, I don’t
think so. We should really think,” he said.

A comment by Senior Minister, Osafo Maafo that the
heritage fund could be used to fund the free
education policy announced by President Akufo-Addo
over the weekend has stirred a lot of conversation
in the country.

The fund was set up to support the country’s
future generations when the oil reserves are
depleted. And for this to be done, nine percent of
the country’s annual petroleum revenue is paid
into the fund.

Mr Maafo is reported to have said at a forum in
Accra on Wednesday that “We have to make an
amendment to say that X percent of the heritage
fund, or the petroleum fund will be used to
support second cycle education. If we think that
industry require a certain stimulus that will
enable jobs to be created and you are creating a
job to build Ghana. You can look at it and put in
a certain amount. We are [also] looking at
agriculture.”

“Whatever is important to support the future
development of this country. Particularly when you
talk about the youth. The youth is the future,
heritage is the youth, we would make certain
relevant amendments to make sure that the economy
benefits from the petroleum act,” he said.

Some people, especially the opposition National
Democratic Congress have kicked sternly against
the decision. Just as the NPP did when it
announced it was going to use the same fund for
some projects during its tenure.

Mr Jantuah said the Akufo-Addo administration
should have prepared a source of funding for the
free education policy the moment it planned on
doing it.

“Is it that they didn’t think through or is it
because the oil revenue was there, they could use
it? They should have allowed us to debate it then,
by now we would have found a solution,” he
said.

He however said if it is indeed so necessary for
the fund to be used, Clause 21 of the law
governing the fund, “talks about priority areas
and within those priority areas there is
education. Perhaps what they can do is reduce the
priority areas and put education in those priority
area every year and use the money to finance the
free education,” he added.

Mr Jantuah believes that the use of the fund will
contribute to the wastage which is already in the
fiscal arrangement of the country.

He also believes that as inasmuch as the free
education policy is a good idea, its
sustainability is uncertain.

Private Legal Practionner, Ace Ankomah who also
contributed to the programme said there are legal
issues that need to be resolved if government
intends to use the fund.

He said if the government intends to use the
Heritage fund for the implementation of the Free
SHS, it has to go to Parliament to amend the law.
For him, the time to implement free education is
now and nothing can justify the inability for this
policy to see the light of day.

“As far as I am concerned free education in
Ghana is non negotiable. It is a constitutional
requirement and we have done it in part for basic
education. The government of Ghana owes it to the
people of Ghana to give them free education.

“After two decades of operating under this
constitution, there is no longer a justification
or an excuse for free education not to come in
view. There are many free things politicians enjoy
on the basis of the constitution and it is time
for them to do something for the people of Ghana
on the basis of that same constitution,” he
noted.

Mr Ankomah says the bigger conversation is how to
fund the policy since the money in the heritage
fund cannot finance the policy for even a year.

“…clearly there ought to be other sources of
funding and this debate ought to evolve around how
government’s biggest social intervention project
will be implemented.

“Let us give our people the free education that
the free education that the constitution
guarantees them and let the heavens fall, but
there are legal issues to resolve if we have to
achieve it.”

Source - Myjoyonline.com

... go Back