During question time at the recently held Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting at the Labadi Beach Hotel on the theme: A Public-Private Dialogue On Stability, Growth and Jobs, Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo responded to a question on how the government intended to fund its proposed Free Senior High School programme.
His response, in sum, was that the government was going to review The Petroleum Act to enable it use part of the Heritage Fund to finance the policy expected to be rolled out in September, this year. The response has since become the grain of public discourse, with Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta suggesting the government has no intention to use the fund. Below is a verbatim transcription of Osafo Maafo's response at the forum.
"...The Petroleum Act, as a matter of fact, that Act will be revisited, and I completely agree with the Professor. You see we must use the resources of the petroleum industry to solve our problems which will make us develop better into the future. After all what is heritage fund? Heritage is protection against the future. What is more heritage than good education? Therefore, if you divert part of the heritage fund to give children of Ghana good education, you are doing the right heritage concept. And therefore we are going to revisit the Petroleum Act, and look at reallocating some of the resources in the heritage fund and earmarking some of them to solve some pressing problems of the country, it is important. You see a euro invested in bonds in Brussels or in Germany, purchasing power in 2016 will be very different in 2080.
"You may recall that the dollar also depreciates, and I'm telling you that, what the dollar could buy 10 years ago, today it cannot buy. Therefore investing the money outside does not give it that full protection. If we need to use the money productively, to create better education for ourselves, to create employment for ourselves, to me is much better in terms of thinking heritage. Therefore we are going to revisit that Act and see the best way to take part of the heritage fund to give the country a better education, free education, create jobs, etc, etc."
Source: graphic.com.gh
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Since when did peace fm online develop interest in fact finding what a government official really said at any given time. I remember when this same peace fm and it's affiliate for gain of mischief twisted and published both orally and tabloid, as many times the words of Mr. Seth Tepker to mean that government was considering taxing pension and as many times as government communication sought to put out what was really said, this same peace fm online never published what was really said by the former Finance Minister. To anyone who is expecting silver and gold in their pockets because the Nana Akuffo Addo is President, or milk and honey to flowing into their homes will definitely be disappointed.
l overheard formal deputy minister MONA QUARTEY saying on newsfile programme that they have laid the foundation of the free SHS to take off. So what is the HOLABALOO about it ? l can't think far.
If the funds is not used in educating our children today how will the future illiterate youth manage the funds in future? We need educated Ghanaians to manage the heritage funds in future.
I have said it to ndc pls pls pls just take your time and see what will happen even the next 6 months b4 you come up u r rush toooooo much or else your opposition power too will become meaningless Im pleading with you. When the prez and the senior minister were MPs you Haruna Iddrisu ablakwa and the likes were students. These senior citizens know exactly Ghana problem n don't need Ghana money to survive so pls allow them
Good Education or Free Education. There exist a world of difference. We're getting it wrong again with such ***barred word*** politicking.
Oh so this is what osafo marfo said n journalists have flogged it out of context like this.Part is not a whole. Bad journalism.
IT IS SHAMEFUL ACT ON THE PART OF GHANAIAN JOURNALIST TO DO THIS KIND OF DISSERVICE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF GHANA. YOU SEE, WHOEVER PAID IS NOT PATROITIC AND THE EARLIER YOU WANE YOURSELF HIM/HER THE BETTER. TRY DO GOOD JOURNALISM NEXT. THE MAN UNCLE OSAFO MAAFO, YOU ARE VINDICATED GOD ALMIGHTY ON YOUR SIDE. YOU ENEMIES WILL PLAN IN SECRET BUT YOUR GOD WILL EXPOSE THEM IN PUBLIC. I THANK GOD FOR THIS WONDERFUL TRUTH. UNCLE EVERYBODY KNEW THAT YOU NEVER SAID SO. GOD BE WITH YOU, H E NANA ADDO, THE GREAT NPP AND THE MOTHER GHANA.
Do you know what the media is today? They are just practicing 'paid adverts' disguised as journalism. They only care about selling their outlet to pay salaries. Most of them dont know what it is to journalize. They are just employees who must write. I studied the gate-keeping role of the media in school and i have realized that they (journalists)kill citizens than they save them. Osafo Marfo's interpretation is reflection of his role, Senior Minister. The man is so deep so the likes of Haruna Iddrisu and job-seeking journalists wouldn't understand him. A prepared future, simple! What is calculus about this?
I concur with Osafo Marfo. Very wise proposal. God bless him.
Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815) has 61 sections of the Act. In these sections,is where you will find the "Establishment of and object of the Ghana Heritage fund" at Section 10 of the (Act 815) which says In paragraph (2), that the objective of the heritage fund is to provide endowment support to development for future generation ..... Education is undoubtedly one of the sectors where the future of the country depends. If Ghana, is thinking towards future betterment, then a great investment as such is needed at the education sector. To do that, there should be some extent of government intervention at the sector so hence the "Free Senior High School Policy." It will be a great mistake to politicise education. If the heritage fund is to be used as investment at a place where the global world is targeting for their country's development, I concord to the implementation of the policy. Everyday is the future we we look forward to. Today was the future we talked about some years back.