Parliament to probe Education Minister Osei Adutwum

When the Parliament of Ghana returns from recess in October, 2022, one of the major tasks it would be called upon to execute in the spirit of public interest, is to probe the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, following the controversy arising from the implementation of the US$1.2million World Bank-funded Ghana Accelerated Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) COVID-19 Interventions.

The call for the Parliamentary probe would be led by the Minority Group, especially, its members on the Committee on Education that first called on Dr. Adutwum to avail himself for accountability on the World Bank-sponsored GALOP COVID-19 Interventions.

The Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Dr. Clement Apaak, who confirmed this to this web portal in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, said he has already filed question to that effect.

Although he did not disclose the question he has already filed, the Builsa South National Democratic Congress (NDC) legislature said it was premised on the press statement released by the IT firm, TANIT Limited, which contract was to design, develop and deploy digital teacher training content and platform under the GALOP COVID-19 Interventions, was altered and later abrogated by Dr. Adutwum and the Ministry of Education.

“Yes we will press. I’ve filed a question on it from the TANIT Limited press statement. The company claims it was contracted to develop the platform but the Ministry later abrogated the contract, and cooked up date for the World [Bank] without training the teachers in digital technology for teaching”, he noted in response to a question if the Minority will press upon Parliament to probe Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum and the Ministry of Education.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, Dr. Apaak in a tweet served notice that he would demand answers from Dr. Adutwum and the Ministry of Education following the Monday, August 15, 2022, publication by The Chronicle newspaper with the banner headline ‘Did Adutwum cook-up report on $1.2m GALOP Project’ and the subsequent press statement released by TANIT Limited insisting that the Education Minister and the Ministry abrogated a contract they awarded to it after they had presented a ‘made-up’ report to the World Bank in order to access the US$1.2million for the implementation of the GALOP COVID-19 Interventions.

“More revelations coming up on the USD1.2M World Bank funded GALOP Project. The response from TANIT Ltd to a story carried by the Chronicle raises even more questions. I will certainly demand answers”, noted Dr. Apaak in his tweet which he attached snapshots of TANIT Limited’s press statement and the front page report of The Chronicle newspaper.

Dr. Adutwum and the Ministry of Education have both denied presenting a fictitious report to the World Bank to access the US$1.2million for the GALOP COVID-19 Interventions.

In the view of the Education Minister, the World Bank has exonerated him from any wrong doing, stressing that the US$1.2m is still intact in the Ministry’s accounts.

The Ministry of Education had also informed the public in a separate statement that it was chasing TANIT Limited to refund GH₵859,115.46 after the IT company failed to deliver the World Bank project it contracted it to execute on July 26, 2021.

However, the Public Relations Officer for TANIT Limited, Isaac Agyemang, seems not convinced with the responses of the Education Minister.

He told Accra-based Angel FM in an interview that it is only through a Cabinet and Parliamentary probe into the World Bank’s GALOP COVID-19 Interventions that the truth surrounding the project would be established.

TANIT, he noted, is ever ready to submit itself to Cabinet and Parliamentary scrutiny.

Mr. Agyemang also rebutted claims by the Ministry of Education that it reneged on the contract and therefore had to refund the GH₵859,115.46 to the Ministry.

“There should be a parliamentary probe into this because we know that we have delivered on our mandate as a company and got paid”, he noted.