Former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo has assured Ghanaians in support of the Free SHS policy that it will not be touched no matter what happens in negotiations between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team.
Speaking in Accra Monday, October 10th 2022, Maafo said Free SHS and other similar social intervention programs would not be affected by IMF conditions.
“People have written and I have read in the papers arguing that one of the first things IMF should look at as they admit us into the IMF programme is to cut the Free SHS. Let me tell you here and now, we are negotiating with the IMF and Free SHS will not be touched, we cannot touch it,” he said.
He rejected claims that the IMF might call for a cut to the program’s expenditure whilst admitting that it could use a review.
“If there is any sector that we should not touch the expenditure, that sector is education. Because we are protecting the potential use of our resources in a very efficient and effective manner. So, if you touch education, you are undermining your own development paradigm. So, that is not the area to go when you decide to cut expenditure,” he stressed.
Osafo Maafo argued that Free Senior High School is commonplace in the Western World hence the IMF would not go against such a policy when they are aware of its utility in development.
“The IMF itself as an institution is pro-poor, the IMF itself believes in education so how can IMF ask you to cut Free SHS? Don’t you have Free SHS in America, don’t you have Free SHS in Germany, don’t you have it in Europe? Most of the developed world has Free High School, so we are taking the right path towards development and I can assure you that the IMF will not touch the Free SHS,” he stated.
On the issue of calls for a review of the programme, he said: “Let us meet to discuss the overall implementation with the view to improving efficiency and effectiveness and we may realign certain things, but cutting it is out of the question.”
“The challenges being faced are short-term and we cannot afford to sacrifice our common vision due to short-term economic pressures,” he added.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com