The President of the Ghana Bar Association, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, has called for a review of how government scholarships are awarded.
His demand follows The Fourth Estate’s investigation, titled “Scholarship Bonanza” which exposed how individuals with political connections and those from well-to-do backgrounds benefitted from scholarships at the expense of brilliant but needy people.
Delivering a speech at the GBA’s annual Bar conference, Mr Boafo expressed concern about the corruption, nepotism, and political patronage plaguing the scholarship process. He criticised the current process, calling for scholarships to be awarded based on merit, financial need, and relevance to critical areas of study.
“In my opinion, the award of government scholarships should be only what it is,” he stated, “That is informed by real merit, economic and financial need of beneficiaries especially those from poor backgrounds and relevant to specific critical areas of study and research particularly in science, technology, and research programmes that are not offered by local universities.”
I find it immoral and troubling that government are given or awarded to persons with political connections and who are already from privileged and rich backgrounds at the expense of brilliant but truly needy individuals and students.”
The politically connected and the rich benefit
The Scholarship Bonanza series revealed a list of politically connected individuals and social elites as beneficiaries, including Dr Dennis Addo, the founder of the Claron Hospital, and a member of the New Patriotic Party; Lucie Ekeleba Blay, daughter of Freddie Blay, Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and former National Chairman of the NPP; Gifty Oware-Mensah, a Deputy Director of the Ghana National Service Secretariat and Nana Adubea Asante-Apeatu, the daughter of a former Inspector-General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu.
Some beneficiaries of scholarship from the scholarship secretariat
The investigation also found cases where the Scholarship Secretariat awarded some individuals multiple scholarships, with amounts ranging from GBP 13,250 to GBP 55,000, covering tuition and living expenses for foreign studies. Meanwhile, countless deserving students in Ghana are denied this support and are left struggling to continue their education. Many of those who received scholarships are now facing harsh realities—tuition and living expenses are in arrears, leaving some at risk of deportation. Others are forced to turn to unconventional means just to scrape together enough money for tuition and hostel fees.
It is equally unacceptable for multiple government scholarships to be given to an individual while in some cases, awardees take the scholarship and never attend the courses or programmes while other Ghanaians who need a fraction of the amount at local universities are denied and waste away at home with all their skills and talents,” the GBA president lamented
He also condemned the practice of awarding scholarships in foreign currencies for courses that could easily be pursued at local universities.
The investigative series is based on analyses of data reluctantly provided by the Scholarships Secretariat in response to a right-to-information request for a list of scholarship beneficiaries.
The investigation led to widespread public outrage and political discourse, sparking demands for accountability. Mr Boafo’s remarks add to the growing pressure on the government to overhaul the current scholarship system.
He also called for legislation that would regulate and streamline the distribution of scholarships, ensuring that the process is based on merit and need, not favoritism or wealth.
Despite these calls, the government has yet to take any meaningful action toward reform.
The Minerals Commission has deleted crucial information about mining companies from its website after The Fourth Estate reported on how leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and government appointees had been granted concessions to mine and prospect in forest reserves.
The deleted information pertains to the ‘contact persons’ of mining companies and the political affiliations of applicants for mining leases. The Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, had referred to contact persons as “consultants” in an interview with The Fourth Estate. These individuals apply for mining licenses on behalf of mining companies and serve as the liaison between the mining industry regulator and the companies.
In a recent exposé, The Fourth Estate revealed that the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Juaben, Francis Owusu-Akyaw, serves as the contact person for at least 15 mining companies. Some of these companies, including his own, FJ Minerals Limited, have obtained mining licenses to operate or prospect in forest reserves across various regions in Ghana.
He also owns another company, DML Investment Limited. DML is the company through which Mr Owusu-Akyaw provides consultancy services for mining companies. On its website, the company touts its connections to the top hierarchy of the Minerals Commission as a competitive advantage.
“We have established key relationships with upper management at the Ghana Minerals Commission. These relationships have been instrumental in securing and operating concessions in the country,” it says.
When The Fourth Estate questioned Mr Ayisi about the relevance of knowing the political affiliations of individuals applying for mining leases in an earlier interview, he responded: “Sometimes it informs the kind of decision you should make.”
However, the Minerals Commission removed this crucial information from its website on the very day The Fourth Estate published its report.
The Commission’s Chief Executive, Mr Ayisi, did not respond to The Fourth Estate’s enqiries regarding the reason for the deletion of the information
EITI’s Response
In an email to The Fourth Estate, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international organization promoting open and accountable management of oil, gas, and mineral resources, emphasized the importance of disclosing the identities of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in the minerals application process.
Gilbert Makore, EITI’s Regional Director for Anglophone and Lusophone Africa, stated that this is crucial because “a PEP, by using their political prominence and influence, maybe in a position to abuse their power to solicit bribes, secure public funds, or engage in other corrupt practices, including on issues relating to license allocations.”
Regarding Francis Owusu-Akyaw’s consultancy services for the 15 companies, Mr. Makore said he could not comment specifically on the case as he was unaware of it. He noted that any follow-up action would be the responsibility of the relevant authorities.
Without referencing any particular case, Mr. Makore highlighted that the involvement of PEPs in companies seeking mining licenses can elevate the risk of conflicts of interest. To mitigate these risks, he said: “It is imperative that the procedures for licensing are clear and that there are no deviations from the established processes.” He added that the Ghana EITI publishes an annual report that provides citizens and stakeholders with a diagnostic summary of potential deviations in the licensing process.
With many applicants owning multiple companies and applying for various concessions—some for as many as 10—Mr. Makore noted that most mineral licenses in Ghana are allocated on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis, with some awarded through a tendering process. He explained that if an owner with multiple companies uses one to apply for a mining right, priority is given to the first company that applies, provided they meet all the obligations and requirements of the Minerals and Mines Act and its regulations.
He also noted that laws regarding mining ownership vary significantly by country and jurisdiction. For example, Zambia’s mining sector is considering anti-monopoly provisions that would limit a company to holding no more than five mining permits. Such provisions help manage risks related to ownership concentration, political capture, and conflicts of interest in the mining sector.
February 23, 2023, was a day of reckoning for Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
Mr Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, was summoned to the House to respond to a string of questions mostly from opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmakers.
The MP for Sisala West, Mohammed Adams Sukparu asked the most pointed question of the day.
“How many companies have been given permits to mine in forest reserves from the year 2017 to 2022,” Mr. Sukparu asked, attracting nods of approval from his peers sitting by him.
With his eyes glued to a book, Mr Jinapor told the House that six companies had been issued forest entry permits.
“Out of these six, only Chirano Gold Mines and Koantwi Mining Company Limited, are actually involved in mining,” he explained. “The others are still working on permits and authorisations required to commence their operations.”
These authorisations, Mr Jinapor told his colleague MPs, were mandated by Section 18 of the Minerals and Mining Act which requires that “before undertaking an activity or operation under a mineral right, the holder of the mineral right shall obtain the necessary approvals and permits required from the Forestry Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency for the protection of natural resources, public health, and the environment.”
It turned out, however, that the minister was not exactly telling Parliament the truth.
The Fourth Estate’s investigations show that Koantwi Mining Company Limited, one of the two companies the minister claimed had received authorization to mine in a forest reserve, did not have the required Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit.
Mining without EPA permit
What Koantwi had was rather a 30-year mining lease in the Anhwiaso Forest Reserve in the Western Region. And without the environmental permit, the company had no right to enter the forest – not to mention mine there.
At the time Mr Jinapor was answering questions in parliament from his colleagues like Mr. Sukparu, the government had passed LI 2462. Its promoters, the Environmental Protection Agency, claimed the new law would help to properly regulate mining in forest reserves even though it was going to open up even more forest reserves for mining.
Koantwi is owned by one Kofi Antwi, according to information at the Office of the Registrar of Companies. Its application to mine in the Anwhiaso Forest went to the Minerals Commission in December 2022, less than a month after LI 2462 came into effect.
Mr Jinapor approved it.
But when questioned in parliament, he insisted that mining in forest reserves was prohibited except under “exceptional circumstances”. He did not explain what circumstances could be classified as exceptional to the legislators but he was the one who approved mining leases to some companies in forest reserves, which had been designated as no-go areas for mining, timber harvesting, and farming.
Through a right-to-information request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Fourth Estate has found that Koantwi Limited is not on the list of companies that have obtained their environmental permits. Yet, as Mr. Jinapor told parliament, it is mining in a protected forest.
The country’s environmental laws and regulations require mining companies to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and submit a report to the EPA before obtaining an environmental permit and other approvals for a mining license. This ensures that mining activities comply with national and international environmental standards.
EPA figures show that between 2020 and 2024, eleven companies had ticked this box of requirements. Koantwi Mining Company Limited is not one of them.
Disregard for master plan on eliminating mining in forest reserves
The ironies and contradictions surrounding the passage of LI 2462, its implementation, and supposed benefits are legion. The most glaring of all is that it contradicts the country’s 20-year Forestry Development Master Plan, which was developed in 2016.
The master plan targeted a 60 percent reduction in mining activities in Ghana’s forest reserves by 2020, with an ultimate ambition to completely end mining in forest reserves by 2035.The first target has been missed and with the passage of LI 2462, environmental activists are warning that mining in forest reserves could continue beyond 2035, with a serious risk that large swathes of the country’s forest cover would be depleted.
Data from the Minerals Commission’s website shows that in less than two years, ten companies have been granted 10 leases to mine in eleven forest reserves with some of the companies being granted concessions that will expire in 2053.
To put this in context, it is noteworthy that in the 24 years from 1992 to 2016, only five companies obtained mining leases in forest reserves. Since its passage LI 2462 has, in less than two years, permitted more mining in forest reserves than any legislation before it.
In interviews with the head of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, and the EPA’s Deputy Director of Operations, Ransford Sekyi, The Fourth Estate reporters pointed out the rather worrying contrast between LI 2462 and the country’s ambition to eliminate mining in forest reserves by 2035 as indicated in the forestry master plan. Strangely, they both said they had no idea about the existence of the Forestry Development Master Plan.
“I’m quite straightforward and honest. If I have no knowledge of something, I will tell you. I have not read that master plan,” Mr Ayisi said.
Mr Sekyi’s response was equally shocking.
“That master plan is from who?” he asked.
When the Forestry Commission granted 47 forest entry permits to 24 companies to prospect in forest reserves in 2018, the EPA seemed to have serious reservations about that.
An internal memo signed by the agency’s then Chief Programme Officer at its Mining Department, Justine S. Seyire Dzadzra, expressed concern about the “upsurge in the number of Forest Entry Permits” granted to new companies to prospect within forest reserves.
“In view of the environmental sensitivity of these forest reserves and in the light of illegal full-scale mining operations being clandestinely undertaken in some forest reserves under the guise of prospecting, it is critical that the Agency carefully considers this phenomenon to shape its decision on this issue,” Ms Dzadzra wrote in a memo addressed to the Executive Director of the EPA.
Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, alias Sir John, was the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission at the time these permits were issued. Before he passed away in 2020, he was accused of being neck deep into illegal mining in the country’s forest reserves.
Strangely, it was the EPA that would later champion the passage of LI 2462, a law that experts say is even less stringent than the Environmental Guidelines for Mining in Forest Reserves, which had regulated mining in forest reserves from 2001 until LI 2462 was passed in November 2022.
In a rather ironic twist, it is now the Forestry Commission, the agency previously accused by the EPA of wantonly issuing forestry entry permits, which is now expressing concerns about the negative impact of LI 2462, particularly on Ghana’s Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs).
The Forestry Commission did not respond to The Fourth Estate’s interview request, but Hugh Brown, the executive director of the Forestry Services Division (which is under the Forestry Commission) is one of those most worried about the obvious negative impacts of opening up more of Ghana’s forest reserves for mining. Mr. Brown made his fears known in an internal communique. He wrote that “management [of the Forestry Services Division] is uncomfortable with the recent spate of conversions of the status of GSBAs to production areas” and recommended a “suspension of the process of conversions.”
Mr Brown also complained about the lack of consultation leading to the promulgation of LI2462. Environmental activists who spoke to The Fourth Estate also complained that they did not know much about the new law until it was passed.
“I’ve spoken to some CSOs and some experts within this space and they seem not to have known anything about it,” Tony Aubyn, a former Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission, also said. “It is quite disappointing.”
The EPA, though, insists that there was extensive consultation with CSOs and 20 communities in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and Chirano in the Western region before the LI2462 was passed.
Environmental CSO, A Rocha Ghana’s National Director, Dr Seth Appiah-Kubi, told The Fourth Estate that “the EPA’s claim that the Kumasi meeting was a consultation on the LI was an afterthought.”
Changes
Although Mr Sekyi of the EPA claims the passage of LI 2462 was to give legal backing to the pre-existing guidelines, stakeholders in the environmental sector say the old guidelines (now repealed) were “stricter” than the new LI.
For example, while the old guidelines allowed mining activities in only two percent of the area of some forest reserves, LI 2462 has no such restriction. The guidelines also prohibited mining in Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas. LI2462, on the other hand, gives the President discretionary power to approve mining in these uniquely critical reserves. Also, whiles the guidelines mandated that the Forestry Commission must give its written consent before any mining activity can occur in a forest reserve, the new law puts the Forestry Commission’s written approval at the bottom of the raft of statutory requirements needed to mine in forest reserves.
An Environmental lawyer who specialises in forestry regulation, Clement Akapame, questioned the logic behind the new sequence of mandatory approvals.
“The LI creates a certain hierarchy of which permit you should receive first, who [you] should talk to first and interestingly enough, the forest entry permit is the last on the list,” he explained. “How do you start a process to mine in the forest reserve, and the forest entry permit is the last. It should be the first.”
The EPA and the Minerals Commission, however, do not see anything wrong with the changes introduced by LI 2462
But the management of the Forestry Services Division, which is under the Forestry Commission, has bemoaned how some of its officers are easily cajoled into allowing entry for mining companies without forest entry permits, with many believing that a mining lease in a forest reserve is good enough to permit entry.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources did not respond to The Fourth Estate’s repeated requests for an interview.
Repeal the law
Environmental activists say since its passage, LI 2462 has failed to serve its core purpose of better regulating mining in forest reserves. They, therefore, are demanding its immediate repeal before it causes further damage to Ghana’s already depleted and degraded forest reserves. The Minority in Parliament and the National House of Chiefs have both made similar demands.
“Clearly, LI 2462 should not have been passed. It should be revoked,” Mr Akapame said. “We can do better to protect our forest reserves. LI 2462 will not protect our forest reserves. It will rather destroy them all before we know it.”
When the government on June 9, 2023, rallied Ghanaians to plant trees as part of the Greening Ghana campaign, the Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Sam Pyne, was one of the leading political figures in the Ashanti Region who actively participated in the tree-planting event.
“This exercise is vital for beautifying, protecting, and ensuring environmental sustainability,” Mr Pyne told the Ghana News Agency.
However, an investigation by The Fourth Estate into a worrying scramble for mining concessions in forest reserves has revealed an interesting irony on the part of Mr. Pyne: while advocating for the public to promote environmental sustainability through tree planting, his company is involved in a business that threatens the existence of a forest reserve.
Records from the Minerals Commission reveal that just four months before nudging others to help make Ghana green, Mr Pyne’s company applied for a lease to mine for gold in the Oda River Forest Reserve, located in the Ashanti Region.
This area, like many others, is already reeling from the devastating effects of illegal mining, including the destruction of forest reserves, farmlands, and road networks.
Records at the Minerals Commission show that the company, Sam & Gyan Limited, applied for the mining license in February 2023, months after the government enacted the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation in November 2022. Known as LI 2462, the law lists some designated green belts as protected areas, including Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs), which are safeguarded by international conventions. This should make them a no-go area for mining and timber harvesting.
However, under the law, the President has the authority to allow mining and prospecting in these forest reserves if he deems it necessary in the national interest. Records from the Minerals Commission indicate that there was a surge in applications for mining concessions in the forest reserves from June 2022, when the LI was presented to Parliament.
There are media reports, corroborated by satellite imagery, that show the hefty environmental damage caused by mining in Ghana’s forest reserves, where some lush rainforests have been turned into toxic and barren wastelands. It is against this backdrop that the new law has sparked outrage among environmental activists who warn that it could obliterate what remains of the country’s forest reserves, already severely damaged by illegal mining and logging.
Activists warn that by authorizing companies like Sam and Gyan Limited to mine in forest reserves, LI 2462 will only worsen the environmental damage caused by illegal mining in the country.
An environmental lawyer, specialising in forestry regulation, Clement Akapame, points out that the basis for the passage of LI2462 is questionable, because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which championed its passage, has no mandate to push for a law that regulates mining in forest reserves.
“Our first point is the lack of legislative capacity,” Mr. Akapame says. “Even if there’s going to be something like this, we think the lead agency should be the Forestry Commission [which] has the primary mandate to regulate and manage our forest estate.”
The irony, however, is that in 2019, an internal EPA memo raised concerns about the “upsurge in the number of forest entry permits” being issued by the Forestry Commission.
“In view of the environmental sensitivity of these forest reserves, and in the light of illegal full-scale mining operations being clandestinely undertaken in some forest reserves under the guise of prospecting, it is critical, that the agency, carefully considers this phenomenon to shape its decision on this issue,” the memo, written by the then chief programme officer, Justine Dzadzra, said after the Forestry Commission had issued 47 forest entry permits within a year.
Three years after the memo raised the alarm, the EPA was pushing for the passage of LI 2462, which appears to have attracted even more interest in mining in Ghana’s forest reserves. The Fourth Estate investigations revealed that as of August 13, 2024, at least 25 companies had filed 32 applications to mine and prospect in 24 forest reserves.
Samuel Pyne(left), the MCE for the Kumasi metropolis and Ohene Amankwa Gyan (right), a lawyer and a radio presenter are the joint shareholders and beneficial owners of Sam and Gyan Limited which was registered in 2017
A number of these companies are owned by politicians from the governing New Patriotic Party. It appears most of these companies had anticipated that the law would be passed and were already preparing themselves and angling for concessions to mine for mineral resources ahead of its passage. The Fourth Estate’s investigations show that Mr Pyne, a former Ashanti regional secretary of the NPP, is a joint shareholder and beneficial owner of Sam and Gyan Limited, incorporated in 2017. He owns this company with Ohene Amankwah Gyan, a Kumasi-based radio presenter, who is also the lawyer for the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation.
Sam and Gyan Mining Limited has a mining lease in the Oda Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region until 2053. Other companies owned by people with serious political connections to the ruling NPP have either been granted concessions or are in the final stages of the approval processes.
Chairman Wontumi
Months before the government scrapped the guidelines that limited mining in forest reserves in November 2022, Akonta Mining Company Limited was actively felling trees and digging in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources declared the company’s operation illegal. The Office of the Special Prosecutor is currently investigating allegations of illegal mining against the company.
Chairman Wontumi Source: Graphic Online
According to records at the ORC, the company has two shareholders, Bernard Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, who is popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and one Kwame Antwi.
Akonta Mining, which was registered in 2010 for mining and exploration applied to mine in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve (where it is already accused of mining illegally) on August 25, 2022. This was just a month after the LI 2462 was gazetted. The Minerals Commission has forwarded the company’s application to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for possible approval.
Without the regulatory permits, the company mined with impunity until investigations by Joy News’ Erastus Asare-Donkor exposed its destructive activities in the reserve. According to the Minerals Commission’s data, Chairman Wontumi currently has two other active mining leases in the Amenfi District. Apart from Akonta Mining, Wontumi also has a 50% shareholding in another mining company, Akosdwomo Mining Limited, which has several mining and prospecting leases in the Minerals Commission database.
The middle man
A very intriguing character in the frenzy for permits to mine in forest reserves is Francis Owusu-Akyaw, the NPP’s 2024 Parliamentary candidate for the Juaben Constituency in the Ashanti Region. Mr Owusu-Akyaw, The Fourth Estate established, was part of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Small-Scale Mining which President Akufo-Addo set up to crack down on illegal mining and propose reforms for the small-scale mining sector.
The then Secretary to the Committee, Charles Bissue, confirmed to The Fourth Estate that he was sacked from the committee. This was because he (Owusu-Akyaw) had allegedly suggested to him( Bissue ) that they could take advantage of their positions on the committee to get involved in small-scale mining.
A search through the Minerals Commission’s database revealed that Mr Owusu-Akyaw is the contact person for at least 15 mining companies.
Source: Minerals Commission
Four of these companies — Sam and Gyan Limited (owned by Sam Pyne), Unipower Mining Company Limited, Hapic Mining Limited, and FJ Minerals Limited — have at least four leases to mine in forest reserves. Two others, Oleum Ghana Limited and Akonta Mining (owned by Chairman Wontumi), have applications pending with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Mr Owusu-Akyaw himself owns two companies — DML Investment Limited and FJ Minerals Limited. DML’s website describes him as a director of the company and a mineral consultant. This company was listed in the highly-publicized and litigated will of the late former Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, alias Sir John. In his will, Sir John bequeathed some of the land he had acquired within the Achimota Forest to DML. He had been accused of amassing questionable wealth when his will became public after his death in July 2020.
DML is the company through which Mr Owusu-Akyaw provides consultancy services for mining companies. On its website, the company touts its connections to the top hierarchy of the Minerals Commission as a competitive advantage.
“We have established key relationships with upper management at the Ghana Minerals Commission. These relationships have been instrumental in securing and operating concessions in the country,” it says.
Our investigations revealed that Mr Owusu-Akyaw is a joint beneficial owner, shareholder, and director (with one Joyce Nyarku) of FJ Minerals Limited. The company was incorporated on June 3, 2022, the very month LI 2462 went to Parliament. The company applied for a concession in the Jimira and Jimira Extension Forest Reserves on November 9, 2022, two weeks before the LI became law, and obtained approval for a six-year mining lease, ending in 2029. FJ Minerals also put in an application in May 2023 to mine in the Tano Suraw Forest Reserve in Sefwi Wiawso in the Western North Region. Interestingly, another company, Kaboa Plux, which Mr Akyaw consults for, also applied for the same concession in July 2023. Both applications are under review.
Influential Chinese citizens
Another one of Mr Owusu-Akyaw’s clients is Unipower Mining Company Limited, which has two Chinese directors as shareholders – Liu Dingfeng and Liu Renxiu (named beneficial owner). The company was registered on August 22, 2019. From the ORC’s records, the company was registered to provide mining services.
A former Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission, Tony Aubyn, explained to The Fourth Estate that this categorization means that the company cannot own concessions of its own but, can be hired by concession owners as a service provider.
However, The Fourth Estate discovered that Unipower applied for mining leases in the forest reserves on November 25, 2022 – the day LI2462 came into force. The company currently has two active mining leases. While one of these concessions is in the Boin Tano Forest Reserve in the Western Region, the other one is partially in the reserve by the Tano River. Seven other applications from Unipower are at various stages of consideration, the Minerals Commission’s database shows.
A family business
Solomon Gozey, Ryan Gozey, and Cynthia Perpetual Agboada may not be well-known names, but their involvement in mining in forest reserves is attention-grabbing. In addition to their active concessions, the trio is actively seeking permits to mine in more forest reserves. Between them, they have registered at least five mining companies:
Limespec Mining Limited and Hapic Mining Limited were incorporated just three days apart, on September 19, 2022, and September 22, 2022, respectively. This was two months before the new mining law came into effect.
Rygo Excel Globe Mining Limited was registered on April 11, 2023, six months after LI 2462 came into being.
Kapsord Mining Limited and Lotus Impact Limited (formerly Nana Ansah Resources) were registered on July 24, 2018, and August 10, 2020, respectively.
Together these companies have four active mining concessions in six forest reserves, including in the Neung South Forest Reserve, a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area in the Western Region. They also have two applications awaiting approval at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. To illustrate their influence, it is noteworthy that one of their companies, the Kingsperp Group, donated three salon cars to the Ghana Armed Forces in 2020 while an official of Kapsord Mining, David Yarquah (variously described as a “contact person”), built a 100-bed hostel for the Ghana Armed Forces at Michel Camp in 2022.
The DCE and organiser of NPP women
The DCE for Wassa East, Emmanuel Boakye(left) & Angelina Bint Ntaama (right) are listed as part of the four beneficial owners of Essaman Mining Limited registered in July 2024
Essaman Mining Company Limited was registered as a mining company on July 3, 2024, with the ORC. Eight days later, the company’s application to prospect for gold in the 75-year-old Subri River Forest Reserve speedily moved from the Minerals Commission to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. The Subri River Forest Reserve is located in the Wassa East District of the Western Region. One of the four joint beneficial owners and shareholders of Essaman Mining Company Limited is the District Chief Executive of the Wassa East District, Emmanuel Boakye. In March 2024, Mr Boakye caused the arrest of a queenmother in his district over allegations of illegal mining. The other politician on the list of beneficial owners of the company is the NPP’s Deputy Western Regional Women Organiser, Angelina Bint Ntaama.
Similarities and seeming coincidences
The Fourth Estate also found that Oleum (GH) Limited (whose joint shareholders bear names similar to that of NPP’s aspiring MP for Nkoranza South, Harriet Kyeremanteng and Ghana’s Deputy Ambassador to Turkey, Faisal Ahmed Mairiga) is also interested in mining within a forest reserve. Ms Kyereremanteng is a presidential staffer and special aide to the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare.
Incorporated on July 11, 2014, Oleum’s registration details showed that its principal businesses include oil and gas services and buying and selling of precious minerals. Mining is not one of their business objects. However, the company applied for a mining concession in the 90-year-old Bonsam Bepo Forest Reserve located at Akrodie in the Ahafo Region in December 2022, a month after LI 2462 was enacted. That application is also awaiting possible approval from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Another noteworthy coincidence is the fact that on the very day LI 2462 came into force, two companies applied for permits to mine in forest reserves. One of them was Unipower, owned by two Chinese nationals who are clients of the NPP parliamentary candidate for Juaben, Francis Owusu-Akyaw. On the same day, another company, Betterland Ghana Limited also applied for a lease to mine in the Draw River Forest Reserve, another GSBA. One application has been approved since May 10, 2023, and is to last till May 9, 2033. Betterland has another application, filed on December 23, 2023, awaiting ministerial approval.
Betterlands’s applications angered the environmental group, Ghana Environmental Advocacy, which raised concerns in a petition about the company’s application to mine in a greenbelt protected by international conventions. At the time in May 2024, the civil society organization observed that the Draw River Forest Reserve was one of the least already degraded forest reserves in Ghana and risked being completely destroyed if the company was allowed to mine in it, suggestions the company rejected.
Some of these concessions have been granted to these companies at a time when the country has received millions in green funding from the United Nations, and some European countries including the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom to conserve the country’s forests while restoring degraded forests.
Ironically, although the country has adopted the ECOWAS Environmental Action Plan spanning 2020-2026, which stresses environmental and biodiversity protection and the Sustainable Developement Goals (SDGs), the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has endorsed some of these mining leases which could lead to the destruction of some of the country’s Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs.)
“ECOWAS will also aim at maintaining the productive base of natural forest and marine environment in a context of strong vulnerability caused by climate change, while adding value to their resources for the benefit of local populations,” the action plan states.
The objective of SDG 15 is to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.”
Reactions
When The Fourth Estate reached the mayor of Kumasi for comment on whether he owned a company seeking to mine in the Oda Forest Reserve, he said he had done nothing wrong.
“I am a Ghanaian, I have a company, and I can apply for anything that I want. If I apply and they give it to me, what is your concern with that? What is it? Why this personalisation and victimization, bringing people down? What do you gain from that?” he said before dropping the call.
The DCE for Wassa East, Emmanuel Boakye, and the NPP’s deputy Western Regional Women Organiser, Angelina Bint Ntaama, denied registering any company to mine.
When The Fourth Estate informed the DCE that his tax identification number (TIN) is connected to the incorporation documents obtained from the ORC, where he is also listed as a shareholder and beneficial owner, his response was: “Ah! Is that so? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
When The Fourth Estate asked about his tax identification number, he said he was in a meeting and that the reporter should call back in an hour. He did not respond to subsequent calls and text messages.
Ms Ntaama, while denying her connection to the venture, also insisted that she was not involved in mining and therefore could not own a mining company. She claimed she did not know what a tax identification number was.
However, Mr Richmond Owusu, who is listed as the majority shareholder of Essaman Mining, confirmed that he incorporated the company. When informed about the DCE’s denial of owning any part of the company, he stated that the DCE did not know about the company. When asked how the DCE’s name appeared in the company’s profile as a shareholder and beneficial owner, he responded, “I will look into it.”
The Fourth Estate’s calls to Harriet Kyeremanteng were not responded to nor returned, but the Deputy Ghana Ambassador to Turkey, Faisal Ahmed Mairiga denied being a shareholder in any company in Ghana.
“I have no idea about what you’re talking about. I don’t do whatever you’re talking about” he said.
When The Fourth Estate asked if he knew Harriet Kyeremanteng, he chuckled and responded “Massa, go and look for whatever you’re looking for. I don’t know anybody.”
Solomon Gozey, who is the beneficial owner of multiple companies that have been awarded several concessions, did not respond to The Fourth Estate’s calls and whatsapp message.
Minerals Commission’s response
One of the requirements on the Minerals Commission’s website is for applicants for mining leases to indicate their political affiliation but none of the owners of the companies named in this story, including those belonging to politicians, have made these declarations.
Asked why it was necessary to indicate one’s political affiliation when applying for a mining lease, the Minerals Commission’s Chief Executive, Martin Ayisi, said “Sometimes it informs the kind of decisions you should make”. He was quick to point out, however, that politicians, irrespective of their political affiliation, were Ghanaians and could not be denied mining leases because of partisan considerations.
While the evidence was glaring that there were politicians from the ruling party who have applied and have been granted mining leases since LI 2462 went to Parliament, Mr Ayisi denied that was the case.
“[I’m saying] no to that question that says that it’s an attempt by the ruling government to allow their cronies or persons linked to them to do mining in forest reserves,” Mr. Ayisi said. “It is below the belt.”
Asked if parliamentary candidates needed to declare their affiliations while applying for mineral rights, he responded in the affirmative but said to be considered for the lease, they must not have a relationship with the commission.
“Any parliamentary candidate or any member of parliament can acquire a mineral right, provided you don’t have any relationship with Minerals Commission,” he said. “So, for example, a Member of Parliament who serves on our board cannot be given a mineral right.”
A Rocha Ghana
Reacting to The Fourth Estate’s findings, the Director of Operations of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, described them as “shocking.”
“This actually clarifies and confirms all that we’ve been saying that the main reason the government passed this LI is just to open up for their own people, family, and friends, to capture all mining concessions and have access so they can make themselves better off at the expense of the citizens. If the leaders who are supposed to supervise the protection and care of our forest reserves are appropriating it for themselves, then I think we’re doomed and it’s very unfortunate,” he said shaking his head.
The second part of this story will reveal the contradictions and lies fueling the interest in mining in forest reserves in Ghana.
No part of this story can be published or rewritten without the express permission of the Editor.
It was about 2:45pm when Yahsmen Kamal Kokroko was born at the Amoah Hospital at Ablekuma in Accra.
“The baby was not crying. She was silent,” her mother, Salamatu Adams, recalled the events of October 21, 2021.
Midwives and parents often anticipate a baby’s first cry in the labour ward because it signals a newborn’s ability to breathe on its own. But, about four hours after her birth, Yahsmen did not cry.
It was the most devastating period for the first-time mother, Salamatu Adams, and her husband, Kamal-deen Kokroko.
Salamatu watched frightfully as the midwife wrapped Yahsmen in a cot sheet screaming “Jesus, Jesus”.
It was about 2:45pm when Yahsmen Kamal Kokroko was born at the Amoah Hospital at Ablekuma in Accra.
“The baby was not crying. She was silent,” her mother, Salamatu Adams, recalled the events of October 21, 2021.
Midwives and parents often anticipate a baby’s first cry in the labour ward because it signals a newborn’s ability to breathe on its own. But, about four hours after her birth, Yahsmen did not cry.
It was the most devastating period for the first-time mother, Salamatu Adams, and her husband, Kamal-deen Kokroko.
Salamatu watched frightfully as the midwife wrapped Yahsmen in a cot sheet screaming “Jesus, Jesus”.
“[The midwife] asked the other staff [in the labour room] to heat water for her. She then pulled out a hot water bottle from a drawer,” Salamatu says.
When the hot water came, Salamatu said the midwife poured it into the hot water bottle, which she then wrapped around the newborn Yahsmen.
With the baby warming up in the cot sheet, the midwife turned to stitch up Salamatu, whose cervix was cut to open her up for the delivery of the baby with a birth weight of 3.5kg.
As she stitched Salamatu’s cervix, Deborah allegedly forgot about the baby tucked in the cot sheet with the hot water bottle.
The compound of Amoah Memorial Hospital
“By the time she realised that the bottle was around the baby, Yahsmen’s skin had burnt,” Salamatu said, recounting her moment of horror. “When I saw it, I screamed.”
The baby’s skin had turned pinkish. What shook Salamatu to the core was when the midwife said Yahsmen was about to die.
“She then peeled the [baby’s scalded] skin and said ‘as for this, if you use Vaseline on it, it’ll heal’ [and then] she applied the Vaseline on the wound,” Salamatu said.
At this point, the midwife bent the baby, forcing her knees to touch her forehead, Salamatu recalled.
The baby let out a shriek, much to the relief of the little crowd in the labour ward. She had taken her first breath of life but all indications were that her first years of life were going to be filled with pain, distress and a lot of hospital visits.
A test of fortitude
Yahsmen is the couple’s first child, born after barely a year of marriage. They were expectant and had gone through so much trouble and anxiety in preparation for the baby.
Salamatu first visited Amoah Memorial Hospital on October 7, 2021, to continue her antenatal care. That was when she first met the midwife, Debora Yeboah.
On her third visit, a scan indicated she was due on October 22, 2021.
Salamatu Adams, the mother of the burnt baby
On Wednesday, October 20, 2021, Salamatu went for antenatal care again. Deborah examined the expectant mother and told her that her baby bump was not as pronounced as expected though she could deliver any time soon.
When she returned home, she and her husband washed and cooked. But in the night, Salamatu started experiencing labour pangs. So, her husband rushed her to the hospital that night.
Twelve hours later, she delivered. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. But it rather became the beginning of a trauma that has ruined the couple’s happiness.
Five-hour surgery
After following the midwife’s advice to use Vaseline, a petroleum jelly used to treat some skin conditions, Salamatu and her husband saw no improvement in the baby’s condition. That was when they decided to seek a second opinion.
Parents of the burnt baby
They went to the Ga South Municipal Hospital, on October 27, 2021.
A quick examination of the little girl showed the wound was infected and the doctors recommended surgery. Yahsmen was just six days old – too young to go under the surgeon’s knife.
Medical records from the Ga South Hospital show that the baby suffered 13% burns at Amoah Hospital, where she was born.
“They said the best way was to wait for a while to enable the dead tissue which made the hard skin wear off before they could operate on her,” Salamatu said.
Eventually, on November 4, 2021, baby Yahsmen was taken to the theatre. The procedure lasted five hours.
Four days later, little Yahsmen was discharged from the hospital, and for six weeks, the family shuttled between their Ablekuma home and the Ga South Municipal Hospital at Mallam, also in Accra, for the dressing of the baby’s wound.
The surgery cost the family GHS4,000, which they could only pay with a loan they secured. This is in addition to all the expenses on transportation and medical consumables for dressing the wound.
At just about three years old now, Yahsmen’s burns have left her scarred for life. Her parents, devastated and traumatised by the experience of watching their joy fade into despair, can’t shake off the sense of regret over their choice of Amoah Hospital for the delivery of their first child.
“I have not yet started feeling the love for my baby because I am feeling the pain,” Yahsmen’s father, Kamal-deen told The Fourth Estate in their Ablekuma home. “It has caused me so much pain that when I go to bed, I can’t sleep.”
His wife shared her own pain of seeing her baby suffer.
“I couldn’t take it when they had to inject her hands every day. The hospital staff kept asking how this little baby got burnt? What did I do to her? Even the paediatrician threatened to get me arrested for burning my baby,” Salamatu said.
Saved not burnt – Midwife’s account
In the midst of it all, the couple are having to grapple with the hospital’s refusal to accept responsibility for Yahsmen’s suffering. Even the midwife who applied the hot water bottle to her delicate skin as a baby, insists she did nothing wrong and that Kamal-deen and Salamatu should be grateful that she pulled their child from the brink of death.
Midwife Debora Yeboah has been accused of allegedly burning the baby.
When The Fourth Estatecontacted Debora Yeboah, the midwife, she claimed she was not an employee of the Amoah Hospital but rather came around to help. She claimed she lost the chance of getting a job with the hospital because of the allegations that she was responsible for little Yahsmen’s injuries.
The Fourth Estate had more questions.
“You said you did everything to resuscitate the child, what did you do?”
“Mouth-to-mouth, chest compression,” she said.
“You said you put something behind the child, or?”
“Even with that, she didn’t respond,” she said, and went into another room in search of the hot water bottle but indicated that the hospital’s lawyer had come for it.
“It is like a foam, it’s not something that will burn a child,” she insisted.
“But can hot water be poured inside?”
“Even when we heated the water, it wasn’t hot. Before it went near the baby, I even touched the man’s [Yahsmen’s father’s] body with it and asked him if it was hot. He said no.”
The hospital also has a different account of what happened in the ward where Yahsmen was born.
“Our client (Amoah Hospital) further states that, under no circumstance did the midwife fill a can with hot water and wrapped in a towel at the bare back of the newly born baby,” lawyers for the hospital said in a suit filed by the parents of Yahsmen.
Alien practice
The President of the Midwives Association of Ghana, Mary Ofosu, told The Fourth Estate that the use of the hot water bottle in a labour ward is an alien practice.
“It’s not part of the protocol,” she said. “I’ve never heard of its use like that. Hot water bottle? You can´t use anything hot on a baby’s delicate skin.”
Mrs Ofosu, who has spent a decade and a half in different labour wards, said a hot water bottle was forbidden as a pain soother on even pregnant women.
She said if a newborn baby does not cry within the “Golden Minute”, their first 60 seconds outside of the womb, there are various tried and tested procedures to help them draw breath. They do not include the use of hot water bottles.
Mrs Ofosu said resuscitation could be artificially initiated using a procedure known as bag and mask. Here, the baby is positioned on a firm surface to clear the airway, a sized mask is then attached to the baby’s nose and mouth, and gentle puffs of air is squeezed from the attached bag. The baby’s heart rate, oxygen levels, and overall condition are closely monitored throughout to ensure a heartbeat.
A midwife’s other options in resuscitation include sucking the baby’s mouth and nose or cleaning the baby to stimulate him/her. Chest compressions may also be used.
Did the baby die?
Yahsmen Kamal Kokroko, the burnt baby
Midwife, Deborah Yeboah, employed none of these techniques but insisted that but for her Yahsmen wouldn’t be alive today.
“When the child arrived, she was dead,” she claimed. “You can ask the man [Yahsmen’s father].”
“When the child was born, she was dead? How?”
“It happens,” she interrupted.
“You can place a dead baby in bed for five hours?”
“She was gone.”
“But how do you keep a dead child for—-?”
“I’ve been delivering babies for 40 years now. I have a lot of experience,” she insisted.
“You said the baby was dead when she was born. What was the colour of her skin?”
“The baby was gone. Unfortunately, those with me didn’t take a picture of her.”
“You said the baby was dead. What showed she was dead?”
“She was lifeless. Her mouth was wide open.”
“But if a baby is born and it dies, what do you do?”
“A doctor comes to assess it.”
“So, for those five hours, the doctor didn’t come?”
“It wasn’t five hours. A doctor came from Ridge to give her a vaccine.”
“So, the baby was there from 2pm till the doctor came at 6pm?”
“She cried at 5pm.”
“Did the doctor see the wound?”
“The doctor doesn’t work here. He came from the Ridge Hospital.”
“How long did the water bottle stay behind [the baby]?”
“I had wrapped her. The father was sitting by her. I didn’t check the time. She was behind me in the cot sheet.”
“How long did it take?”
“It wasn’t that long.”
“When I was suturing [restitching the mother], I was watching the baby. We were praying. A pastor’s wife was around and she was praying with us. I told all of them to pray to see what God can do [for the baby].”
A legal tussle begins
In their quest for justice and some recompense, Salamatu and her husband, Kamal-deen wrote a letter to Amoah Hospital demanding GHS500,000 for negligence on the part of its staff. They intended to use the money to defray the cost of Yahsmen’s treatment.
The hospital, through its lawyers, responded that Yahsmen was born with her umbilical cord around her neck, leading to asphyxia (or suffocation) which nearly killed her.
“Our client denies that under no circumstance did the midwife fill a can with hot water and wrapped in a towel at the bare back of the newly born baby,” the letter from Amoah Hospital’s lawyers said. They also claim that Yahsmen’s condition was a result of the asphyxia she had suffered.
“Post-delivery examination of the baby showed that she had a blister at the right flank area about one centimetre by two centimetres.”
The hospital has also rejected the couple’s demand for compensation, insisting like the midwife that they saved Yahsmen’s life.
Dissatisfied with the hospital’s response to their demand letter, Salamatu and Kamal-deen instructed their lawyers to take the matter to court.
In a suit filed on March 18, 2022, they demanded two million cedis from the Amoah Hospital for Yahsmen’s injuries —”Plaintiffs say that the damages they suffered by them was as a result of the negligence of the Defendant which negligence arose from the breach of the duty of care owed to the Plaintiffs by the Defendant and its agents/staff, the writ stated.
Kamal-deen told The Fourth Estate he wanted to use the case to help save others from the ordeal his family has suffered.
“I told myself that if I don’t get justice for my child, some other person could fall victim,” he says. “It’s an experience that I would not want even my worst enemy to go through.”
An Accra High Court has thrown out the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) case against The Fourth Estate in which it claims the news portal had published “defamatory and reckless” reports about its contracts with the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The court, presided over by Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu, also awarded cost of GHS1,000 for SML’s failure to do due diligence on the legal status of The Fourth Estate before going to court and citing the investigative journalism project as a First Defendant in the case.
The company took legal action against The Fourth Estate and its former Editor-In-Chief, Manasseh Azure Awuni, in February 2024, following the release of an investigative report which exposed how SML, an offshoot of a timber company, had made false claims about potential revenue losses it had helped the state to avoid.
The investigative report also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the signing of the contract and its rationale as the services SML was contracted to provide were already being performed by other state agencies.
On March 12, 2024, lawyers for the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), led by Samson Lardy Anyenini, filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the SML case against The Fourth Estate as First Defendant since The Fourth Estate is simply an investigative journalism project of the MFWA and not a legal entity.
“That the applicant [The Fourth Estate] is neither a natural nor artificial legal person [company] capable of suing and being sued, being a project under the MFWA’s Media and Good Governance Programme,” lawyers for the MFWA argued.
The Fourth Estate is a non-profit, public interest journalism project of the MFWA and not a company.
However, lawyers for SML thought otherwise. So, on March 26, 2024, when lawyers for MFWA appeared in court to argue against the application, SML’s lawyers had other ideas.
They told the court that they had filed a search at the Office of Registrar of Companies ostensibly to prove that The Fourth Estate was an entity capable of being sued.
They, therefore, requested for time to produce the search results to allow them to take the necessary actions including filing their affidavit in opposition which would give reasons as to why The Fourth Estate’s motion should not be granted but be dismissed.
Although lawyers for SML subsequently filed its affidavit in opposition, the defendants were never served.
That notwithstanding, on Tuesday, lawyers for SML had to withdraw their affidavit in opposition to the motion.
Lawyers for MFWA argued their motion and the court upheld it and set aside the suit, indicating that SML could not sue The Fourth Estate.
Meanwhile, the court has granted an application by SML to join MFWA to the suit in place of The Fourth Estate.
The Scholarships Secretariat paid the wife of a scholarship beneficiary more than £6,000 as spousal allowance in 2019.
Desmond Asare received £25,480 (GHS430,612) for tuition and stipend to study for a Master’s programme at the Birmingham City University.
However, while many other beneficiaries were denied their stipend or even local scholarships to study in Ghanaian universities, Mr Asare’s wife received the equivalent of GHS 103,428 as spousal allowance, according to data the Scholarships Secretariat released to The Fourth Estate.
In the same year, the Secretariat sponsored a student to study Luxury and Fashion Management, although there are no recognised luxury fashion businesses in the country.
According to data from the Scholarships Secretariat, Chelsea Naa Arday received €20,000 to study for an MSc. Luxury and Fashion Management at the Paris Business School in France in 2019.
The former Ashesi University graduate now lives in Paris. She is one of 972 Ghanaians who obtained government scholarships to study in foreign universities in 2019 and 2020, according to data available to The Fourth Estate.
Beneficiaries studied in countries including the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, France and Australia.
The Scholarships Secretariat spent a total of GHS437.5 million in the two-year period on both local and foreign scholarships, according to data supplied to The Fourth Estate in a reluctant and rather unenthusiastic response to a right to information request.
That response came after the Right to Information Commission had instructed that the data should be released because the scholarship funds were public funds. A careful analysis of the data revealed that scholarships were awarded to the politically connected, as well as the kith and kin of the Ghanaian social elite contrary to the mission of the secretariat to fund brilliant but needy students and Ghanaian workers at a minimum access cost.
In addition to raising questions about the prudence of awarding scholarships for beneficiaries to pursue a course like Luxury and Fashion Management, the data also revealed government paid for numerous other courses that are readily available in universities and colleges in Ghana.
At least 17 beneficiaries were also found to have received more than one scholarship within the two-year period covered in the data.
We publish below the final batch of scholarship beneficiaries in the list provided to The Fourth Estate by the Scholarships Secretariat:
A former beauty queen is on a list of scholarship beneficiaries obtained by The Fourth Estate in response to a Right to Information request.
Giusepina Baafi, who won the Miss Ghana pageant in 2013, received a scholarship award of 18,500 euros as stipend to study for a Master’s degree at the Schellhammer Business School in Spain.
She got the scholarship award in 2019 – six years after she won the beauty pageant, from which she would resign after a very public spat with the organisers of the event. She was one of 972 recipients.
The Fourth Estate was supplied with the list of government of Ghana scholarship beneficiaries for 2019 and 2020 after a contested right to information request. The Scholarship Secretariat released the data only after an order from the Right to Information Commission, which ruled that as scholarship funds were public funds, basic information about beneficiaries could be made public.
The data revealed that the Scholarship Secretariat has been awarding a good number of scholarships to the relatives, children, employees and associates of government officials, politicians and people with high society and political connections.Some of the beneficiaries, it was discovered, are also leading members and operatives of the governing New Patriotic Party.
We publish below the second batch of the list of government of Ghana scholarships beneficiaries for the years 2019 and 2020.
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has demanded the immediate interdiction of the Registrar of the Scholarships Secretariat, Dr Kingsley Agyemang.
This follows the publication of investigative reports by The Fourth Estate. The investigations, based on analyses of data reluctantly supplied by the Scholarships Secretariat in response to a right to information request, revealed how the Scholarships Secretariat has been awarding scholarships meant for brilliant but needy students to the wards, children, relatives and friends of the politically connected and the social elite.
Notable beneficiaries include Lucie Blay Ekeleba, daughter of the Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Freddie Blay; a Deputy Director of the Ghana National Service Secretariat, Gifty Oware-Mensah; Michael Ofori-Atta Jr, a relative of President Nana Akufo-Addo and Ken Ofori-Atta; Nana Adubea Asante-Apeatu, the daughter of a former Inspector-General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu and Dr Dennis Addo, the founder of the Claron Hospital and a member of the New Patriotic Party.
“The Minority’s call for swift action underscores the gravity of the situation and the need for decisive measures to restore public trust and safeguard the integrity of Ghana’s educational institutions,” a statement, signed by the Minority spokesperson on education, Peter Nortsu- Kotoe, said.
“As the nation awaits further developments, all eyes are on President Akufo-Addo to heed the demands of the Minority and take decisive action to address this alarming scandal.”
The opposition Members of Parliament also want the Special Prosecutor to conduct an immediate forensic audit of all scholarships awarded since January 2017.
The Fourth Estate’s investigations also showed that at least 17 people received multiple scholarships which allowed them to pursue different programmes in two consecutive years or different programmes in a single year. This means while some needy students were struggling to secure a scholarship to fund one programme, others were receiving funding for two different programmes.
At least 11 individuals received multiple scholarships in consecutive years (2019 and 2020), with amounts ranging from GBP13,250 to GBP55,000 per school to cover tuition and living expenses. Six others were granted two different scholarships within the same year, either in different countries or in the same country.
The Minority condemned the award of multiple scholarships to certain individuals, describing it as an “abuse of the taxpayers’ money”.
Meanwhile, a Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress, Osman Ayariga, has petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to investigate the Registrar of the Scholarships Secretariat for misconduct in the administration of scholarships.
He wants the OSP to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the activities of the Registrar and other staff members of the secretariat in the award of scholarships.
“I wish to state that these matters ought to be investigated as a matter of urgency to forestall any future misappropriation of our resources,” Mr Ayariga’s petition said. “I hereby request that the Registrar be subjected to investigations and be made to step aside pending the outcome of the investigations to prevent interference with the investigative process.”
