The Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Alexander Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, has made a heartfelt appeal to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to intervene in resolving the Secretariat’s growing financial crisis.

During a courtesy visit to the Manhyia Palace to officially introduce himself, Asafo-Agyei underscored the Asantehene’s global influence and longstanding relationship with President John Dramani Mahama, expressing hope that his intervention could help ease the burden on the Secretariat.

The Registrar disclosed that the Scholarship Secretariat is saddled with substantial debts owed to foreign institutions, including approximately £40 million in the United Kingdom, $10 million in the United States, and arrears to countries like Morocco and Algeria.

He noted that the Secretariat’s current budget allocation of GHS174 million is woefully inadequate to meet these obligations.

“Our entire annual budget cannot even settle our debt to the UK alone.

After that, we are left with virtually nothing to operate,” Asafo-Agyei lamented.

He painted a grim picture of the hardship faced by Ghanaian scholarship beneficiaries abroad.

Many, he revealed, have been evicted by debt collectors, locked out of academic portals, denied examinations, barred from graduation, and had certificates withheld over unpaid fees.

While commending President Mahama for initiating reforms—such as forming a 10-member committee to draft legislation that would elevate the Secretariat to an authority—Asafo-Agyei noted that the debt overhang continues to cripple operations.

The President has also committed 2 per cent of Ghana’s oil revenue to the Secretariat and permitted internal revenue generation, but the Registrar said those funds are insufficient due to existing debt obligations.

As part of the appeal, Asafo-Agyei requested that Otumfuo use his influence to help increase the oil revenue allocation from 2 per cent to 5 per cent to stabilize the Secretariat and ensure the continuation of Ghana’s scholarship programme.

The Asantehene, in response, thanked the Registrar for the visit and assured him of his support. He pledged to advocate for increased support for the Scholarship Secretariat and expressed concern over the welfare of Ghanaian students abroad.