The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Clement Apaak, has called for a forensic audit into the government’s expenditure on the free Senior High School programme.

This follows inconsistencies in the government’s figures on its expenditure on the programme.

The Finance Minister had indicated in the mid-year review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy that the government had spent a total amount of GH¢5.3 billion on the programme, a figure which is inconsistent with the previous figure of GH¢7.62 billion in the 2021 budget.

Mr. Apaak argues that the conflicting figures on the amount of money spent on the free SHS policy suggest that the government may have diverted some funds allocated for the programme.

“The confusion around this issue clearly confirms my suspicion that something is amiss with the SHS policy and that is why with all the amounts being bandied around, the programme is still challenged,” he said on Eyewitness News.

He believes a forensic audit into the expenditure on the free SHS programme will settle the confusion about the government’s expenditure on the programme.

“Clearly, something is not right, and to think that he [Finance Minister] announced a figure that is far below what he had reported on different occasions in Parliament clearly confirms my point that there is a need for a forensic audit regarding the financing of the Free Senior High School.”