Dr Clement Apaak, the Deputy Minister for Education, has denied allegations of alleged corruption and scandal surrounding the procurement of sanitary pads for schoolgirls.
He described the claims of pads being sold at GH¢45 as “chop bar arithmetic.”
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament on Tuesday, November 25, accused the government of profligate spending under the Free Sanitary Pads policy for schoolgirls in basic and senior high schools.
Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps in Parliament, Mr Vincent Ekow Assafuah, the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo, cited figures from the 2025 and 2026 budget statements to back the Caucus’ concerns.
He said a simple calculation based on the total number of pads purchased implied that the government procured each pack at about GH¢45, far above the prevailing market price ranging between GH¢25 and GH¢15.
The Free Sanitary Pad Policy in Ghana was launched in April 2025 to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls from Primary five through Senior High School nationwide, aimed at improving menstrual hygiene, reducing absenteeism, and promoting gender equality.
Dr Apaak, reacting to the Minority’s claims on Wednesday when he addressed the Parliamentary Press Corps, explained that “the cost of transportation and distribution has been factored into the procurement process, which accounted for the variation in prices.”
He emphasized that the government had distributed 3.9 million packs of sanitary pads to students in 20,744 public basic schools and 2.6 million packs to girls in secondary and T-VET institutions.
The Deputy Minister provided statistics to support the government’s transparency and accountability, stating that 2.5 million female students from primary five to senior high school had benefited from the programme.
He attributed the allegations to a “desperate attempt” to create a scandal and discredit the government.
“The NDC under President John Dramani Mahama and the Ministry of Education has not procured a pack of sanitary pads at GH¢45 and will never do so,” he said.
GNA