The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni-Valley, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, has reaffirmed his commitment to education and youth empowerment by disbursing financial assistance to 74 tertiary students within the constituency to support their academic pursuits.
At a ceremony held at Prestea, each beneficiary received GH¢3,000, bringing the total amount distributed under the initiative to GH¢222,000. The intervention forms part of efforts by the MP to ease the financial burden on students and encourage academic excellence in the municipality.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Cudjoe described education as one of the most critical pillars of development and stressed the need to continuously invest in young people to enable them to achieve their full potential.
He said the support package was intended to help students meet some of the challenges associated with tertiary education, including tuition, accommodation, books and other learning materials.
“I was honoured to extend financial assistance to 74 students across the constituency, with each beneficiary receiving GH¢3,000 to support their educational journey,” the MP stated.
According to him, the future of the constituency largely depends on the quality of education and opportunities given to the younger generation. He, therefore, assured constituents that he would continue to champion initiatives aimed at empowering students and promoting educational advancement.
Mr. Cudjoe further used the occasion to reward outstanding academic performance by presenting special awards to the overall best male and female candidates in both the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) from the previous year.
The awards, he explained, were meant to motivate students across the municipality to strive for excellence and inspire others to take their studies seriously.
He expressed gratitude to the traditional authorities and local government leadership for their support in making the programme successful. In particular, he thanked the Chief of Prestea Himan, Nana Nteboah Pra IV, who chaired the event, and the Municipal Chief Executive, Matthew Ayeh, for their presence and encouragement.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Matthew Ayeh, in his remarks, commended the MP for the initiative and urged beneficiaries to make judicious use of the funds. He noted that the gesture represented a major investment in the future of the municipality and should not be taken for granted.
“The MP’s support should be put to good use for the benefit of the municipality,” he advised. Mr. Ayeh disclosed that measures would be introduced to strengthen the student support application process in future to ensure fairness, transparency and proper targeting of deserving applicants.
He explained that the assembly had observed that some beneficiaries in the past did not utilize the assistance for its intended purpose, making it necessary to tighten the selection and monitoring system.
“Going forward, the application system will be strengthened by way of double-checking the status of applicants because we have realized that a certain percentage of applicants do not put the aid to good use,” he stated.
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