Former president John Dramamni Mahama has refuted claims that his next administration will see to the cancellation of the free senior high school programme initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He said such assertion by the NPP is to score political points as there is no truth in such claims.
“There’s no truth in what the NPP are saying, it is just to score political points. Free SHS Has Come to stay”, he said while addressing the clergy on November 11.
The NPP has criticized the NDC and accused Mahama of having ill motives about the free SHS programme.
Majority leader Afenyo-Markin cited an instance in parliament where the NDC caucus were fighting the passage of the free SHS bill leading to the speaker’s adjournment of the House indefinitely.
Prior to the implementation of the free SHS programme, the NDC had opposed it. The party claimed the programme was not feasible as there were insufficient facilities to accommodate the large number of students that would be admitted.
The former president indicated that the free SHS programme has come with a lot of challenges which Headmasters, students and parents find it difficult to voice out. And so his second term in office will such challenges which include problem in feeding, swift allocation of funds to run the activities of schools.
“There are a lot of challenges the free SHS programme has brought. My next administration will address such problems. One of the problem is that there is no dedicated funding for the programme.
“Sometimes the Old Boys Association have to step in to prevent the close down of some schools which can’t continue with the hardship. There should be a national stakeholders meeting to deliberate on how best to run the Free SHS programme.”
Afenyo-Markin further accused the opposition NDC of sabotaging proceedings in the House by engaging in lawlessness. He also bemoans the speaker’s posture in supervising lawlessness from the NDC legislators in parliament.
Speaking to the press on November 7, the majority leader chastised the speaker for supervising over lawlessness in parliament as he asserts that the NDC is setting the country on a war path.
“The speaker is setting the country on fire. He should understand that not all of us were happy when he was elected as speaker of the House. He should know that it wasn’t the NDC that put him there, but our members gave him the opportunity.
“Speaker is hurting democracy. How can he say he respects the constitution but will not subject himself to the dictate of it. He should show statemanship”.
Speaker Alban Bagbin for the second time adjourned parliament indefinitely after the NPP side failed to show up on November 7 when the House reconvened.
Alban Bagbin noted that there is no quorum to be created for parliament to transact business since the NPP MPs were absent in the Chamber.
The NPP requested for an emergency recall of parliament to transact important government business after Bagbin adjourned the House on October 22 due to the NPP caucus boycotting parliament and subsequent lack of quorum for the House to discuss.
The NPP in a memo indicated important government business the House need to approve.
But the NPP for the second time failed to show up in turn Chamber on Nov 7 and refused to present the business for which they had requested the House to be recalled after the speaker accepted th plea of NPP caucus.
