Deputy Youth Organiser for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Isaac Jay Hyde, has defended relatives of government officials who were beneficiaries in the ‘Scholarship Bonanza’ report by The Fourth Estate.
He insisted that the mere fact that someone is a relative to public officials doesn’t mean such a person is well-to-do in life.
The Fourth Estate’s report revealed that relatives of politically exposed people received huge government funding to study abroad.
The report has since generated widespread public condemnation of the Scholarship Secretariat and the government.
"If my uncle is Ken Ofori-Atta, it doesn't mean I have money" – Isaac Jay Hyde on the Fourth Estate's ‘Scholarship Bonanza’, which names persons close to key government officials as beneficiaries of scholarships.#TV3NewDay pic.twitter.com/qTRw0hJlQ6
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) April 10, 2024
Amongst the public concerns is the fact that relatives of known party members and government officials cannot be classified as “brilliant but needy students.”
“As I am sitting here, I can be wearing the Kaftans and drive the best of cars but perhaps I may be needy. When I was president of the National Union of Ghana Students, at some point in time, I needed to seek help…I was in school and I could not afford it.
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According to Hyde, a person can be connected to a politically exposed individual but he or she might still need support.
“At the end of the day, it is discretionary…if my uncle is Ken Ofori-Atta, it doesn’t mean that I am well-to-do,” he told Berla Mundi on TV3 New Day on Wednesday, April 10.
He further emphasised that the NPP government has disbursed the highest scholarship amount since 2017.
He, however, admitted that the disbursement of the scholarship amounts to relatives of some party bigwigs “should not have happened.”
In its most recent release, “Scholarship Bonanza,” The Fourth Estate listed individuals who are close to influential government figures as recipients of scholarships that it believes are inappropriate.
Notably, children of the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a former Inspector General of Police were listed among the beneficiaries.