The Ministry of Education has denied allegations of misappropriation of public funds associated with the Wi-Fi for Schools programme.
This comes after reports that the government paid internet service provider Busy Internet, now Lifted Logistics Limited, GH¢56 million despite failing to provide services to the beneficiary schools.
Many schools under the government’s Wi-Fi for Schools Programme had gone months, and in some cases years, without internet connectivity, even though the government had paid for the service.
Though the IT coordinators of some schools reported the challenges they were facing with the Wi-Fi connectivity, Busy Internet failed to act.
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Responding to the issues, the Education Ministry has described the allegations as inaccurate and misleading.
In a press release, the ministry clarified that, despite the approved amount for recurring expenses, it only disburses payment for the accessible dedicated internet, not the total capped monthly cost.
“Service compensation for the payment of any monthly cost is prorated as required by the terms of the contract. Specifically, the contract provides that the supplier shall be compensated on a pro-rata basis. The effect is that any downtime up to and exceeding half of a particular month will not be paid for. This means that despite the approved amount of recurring expenditure, the ministry does not pay a pesewa if services do not reach the 50, (less than half of the month) threshold in a particular month,” the ministry clarified.
Read the full statement below;
Story By Sandra Adei Djanie