Cybersecurity expert and digital forensic specialist Richard Apau has challenged Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Her Excellency Sabah Zita Benson, to provide documentary evidence to support her claim that a beneficiary of the Ghana Government Scholarship received £8,160 per month for each of her dependants.
According to Apau, the claim is false and appears to have resulted from either misinformation or deliberate disinformation.
Apau, who says he has been a strong critic of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat over alleged irregularities, including the reported sale of scholarships, said he was not defending wrongdoing under any administration.
“Whatever happened under the previous administration, much of it is currently happening under this administration. These are facts, not conjecture,” he said.
He accused the High Commissioner of either deliberately spreading false information or making statements without properly understanding the figures involved.
Apau argued that the alleged payment was mathematically and practically implausible, particularly given the level of scholarship support ordinarily provided to beneficiaries.
He cited a hypothetical calculation based on the High Commissioner’s claim, saying that if a beneficiary had three children and a spouse, a monthly payment of £8,160 per dependent would amount to £32,640 per month, or £391,680 annually for the four dependants.
He said this would amount to an extraordinarily large sum compared with the scholarship beneficiary’s own maintenance allowance.
According to Apau, a government scholarship beneficiary studying in London would ordinarily receive about £1,250 per month, while one studying outside London would receive approximately £1,050 per month, subject to the applicable scholarship terms.
He further stated that tuition and return airfare would normally constitute additional components of the scholarship package.
Apau believes the figure of £8,160 may have been misunderstood.
He explained that scholarship beneficiaries travelling to the United Kingdom with their families may be required to demonstrate financial capacity for their dependants as part of visa requirements.
According to him, the figure could represent an annual financial requirement, rather than a monthly stipend paid to dependants.
He said scholarship providers may issue support letters to beneficiaries to assist them in demonstrating the required financial capacity, but that such letters do not necessarily mean the stated amount was actually paid to the dependants.
“Zita sees £8,160 a year for each dependent, which must be part of the scholarship award for visa eligibility. So, how did £8,160 a year translate into £8,160 a month?” Apau questioned.
He challenged both Mrs. Benson and the current Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, to produce documentary evidence—including award letters, payment records or invoices—showing that such monthly payments were made.
Apau also questioned why a government that, according to him, had struggled to settle scholarship tuition obligations of about £25,000 per year would allegedly pay almost £97,000 annually to an individual dependant.
The cybersecurity expert further criticised what he described as the politicisation of public administration and urged public officials to exercise greater caution when discussing sensitive government matters in the international media.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic representatives must protect the country’s image while dealing with allegations involving state institutions.
“British universities don’t know NPP or NDC governments. They know the Republic of Ghana,” he said, arguing that public officials should prioritise the country’s reputation and use diplomatic channels where appropriate.
Apau, who said he had personally benefited from international scholarship programmes, including Chevening and Commonwealth scholarships, maintained that dependants accompanying scholarship beneficiaries are not automatically paid stipends by those programmes.
He stressed that beneficiaries who travel with their families are generally required to demonstrate that they have sufficient resources to support their dependants.
He concluded by calling for factual, competent and honest communication from public officials, regardless of political affiliation.
“Public officials have the duty and responsibility to be factual, competent and honest in their dealings,” Apau said.
