NDC Ashanti Region Communicator Fires Seth Terkper Over Free SHS Comment

• A National Democratic Congress (NDC) Ashanti Regional Communication officer, has blasted Seth Terkper over his comments about the Free SHS
• Abass Nurudeen said Seth Terkper has no business suggesting that the Free SHS policy must be reined in
• He said the comments made by the former Finance Minister undermine President-elect John Mahama's promise to reform and expand the free SHS policy

A National Democratic Congress (NDC) Ashanti Regional Communication Officer, Abass Nurudeen, has expressed anger at former Finance Minister Seth Terkper's recent statements.

His anger was directed towards Seth Terkper’s recent comments about the Free Senior High School policy.

In an interview with TV3, Seth stated that he sees no reason why the government must cover all the costs of secondary education under the Free SHS policy.

He said such unfettered expenditure must be reined in considering Ghana’s fiscal situation.

He suggested that the Free SHS policy be limited to day schools, as is the case in other European countries with free education.

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The former Finance Minister has faced backlash from party supporters who feel his comments sway away from the position of the President-elect, John Mahama, who had promised not to scrap the free SHS policy but to reform and expand it when given the mandate.

Abass Nurudeen, addressing the comments in a radio interview on Oyerepa FM, stated that Seth Terkper had not played any key role in getting the party back to power and, thus, he should not use his rhetorics to undermine the public’s confidence in the incoming Mahama administration.

Abass also blamed Seth Terkper for being partly responsible for the party’s failure to retain power in the 2016 general election.

According to him, Terkper had ruled the Finance Ministry with an iron fist and had prevented even party officials from getting jobs in the then-Mahama administration.

Abass stated that the NDC’s grassroots movement had made ultimate sacrifices to get the party back into power, unlike Seth Terkper, and thus, they would not tolerate Terkper’s attempts to undermine the President.

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He urged supporters and Ghanaians not to heed Seth Terkper’s comments on the Free SHS and to trust John Mahama’s campaign promise to reform and expand the programme.

Mahama to scrap free SHS secretariat

YEN.com.gh reported that John Mahama, the then-National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, defended his decision to abolish the Free SHS secretariat.

He said the Secretariat has become embroiled in corruption and adds on to the government's wastage.

He said his future government would scrap the secretariat and put the free SHS policy under the Ghana Education Service.

Source: YEN.com.gh