Freelance investigative journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure has said that the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has led a team that has taken corruption to absurd levels.

Mr Awuni said the President has not only taken corruption to absurd levels but has also undermined anti-corruption agencies like the Auditor-General.

For Mr Azure, the President of Ghana was elected into office not because he promised Free SHS but because Ghanaians thought he could help in the fight against corruption.

However, the same people who controlled the narrative of the President being incorruptible are today saying the country should focus on Free SHS and not call the President out for his failure to fight corruption which was the main reason why he was voted to power.

To Manasseh, parents are impoverished and cannot pay for the fees of their wards because corruption has rid them of opportunities that will empower them to pay fees of their wards.

He said regardless of the investments made in educating students, people will complete and still have to be on the streets to hassle saying “The interests and repayments of the misapplied and stolen billions we are borrowed are choking us. And people will attend the schools for free and go back to their parents’ single rooms to hustle for obvious reasons”.

Below is his statement

Free SHS and Corruption

Free SHS was not what brought Akufo-Addo to power. He promised Free SHS in 2008 and lost. He promised Free SHS in 2012 and lost.

In 2016, he won mainly because Ghanaians were outraged about corruption. And what has he done about the fight against corruption which he promised? Not only has he taken corruption to an absurd level, but he has undermined anti-corruption agencies like the Auditor-General.

But some people say he has brought about free SHS so we should not talk about corruption. Why not? The unbridled corruption of years of yore is what has impoverished so many people that they cannot afford decent livelihoods and pay the fees of their wards.

The interests and repayments of the misapplied and stolen billions we are borrowed are choking us. And people will attend the schools for free and go back to their parents’ single rooms to hustle for obvious reasons.

Whether we talk about it or not, corruption has consequences for every one of us, including those who have insured their future generations against poverty by stealing and hoarding what belongs to all of us.

It is possible to have implemented free SHS without corruption.

Or?