Gary Nimako Marfo, the lawyer for Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, who has been implicated in the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) scholarship scandal has described the report by the Auditor General as unprofessional and porous.
Some Members of Parliament, lecturers, and other high profile personalities have been in the news for using their offices to obtain GETfund scholarships to study in international universities.
The Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko’s name was part of the list as a beneficiary of the scheme to study at SOAS University of London in the United Kingdom.
Even though Kennedy Osei Nyarko, who is also a Deputy Minister of Agriculture, has denied being a beneficiary of the GETFund scholarship, the Auditor-General intends to surcharge persons involved in scholarship awards and also disallow expenditure items of the GETFund Secretariat, in accordance with Article 187(7) (b) of its mandate.
The surcharge comes after recommendations by the Auditor-General after questioning the GETFund for not being fair in the award of scholarships to these high-ranking officials.
Speaking on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Ekourba Gyasi, Gary Nimako Marfo, the lawyer for Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko says the Auditor-General failed to authenticate whether or not the money GETfund claimed to have paid to the said school was true.
He revealed that even though Kennedy Osei Nyarko’s name was part of the beneficiary list, no figure was attached to it.
“The report is porous if the Auditor General had done a diligent and professional work without malice, they would have done all the internal checks to get the necessary facts backed by concrete evidence and approvals and not just put any name out as a beneficiary, “he noted.