The Minority leader in Parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s 2014 State of Nation Address, saying the issues raised were not in conformity to what was captured in the 2014 budget.
“There were so many things that the president mentioned in his address that were not in the budget at all,” he stated.
Mr. Mensah said the President’s presentation on railways for instance, was not captured in the 2014 budget at all.
But in a rebuttal, the Minister of Information and Media Relations, Hassan Ayariga stated that “once the funding arrangements are completed, review of the budget is not out of the way given that it is a major commitment by the President.”
President Mahama in delivering the 2014 State of Nation address revealed government’s intentions of implementing a free senior high school education policy in 2015.
According to the President, “The Ministry of Education, following consultations with stakeholders has prepared a report on the roadmap for a progressive introduction of free secondary education in Ghana as required under the 1992 constitution.”
Asked whether the President was going back to pick on the Minority’s promise of the Free High School policy on Eyewitness News, Mr Ayariga stated that “ the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a party never said the Free high school is not a good thing.”
On the contrary, he stated that “the debate about the Free SHS at that period had to do with feasibility of the policy, taking into consideration the finances of the country,” he explained.
He further stated that the NDC had not reneged on its promise to deliver quality education to Ghanaians.
“People must not only have access to education but quality education. For education to be meaningful, quality and quantity of education must go hand in hand,” he emphasized.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana