Kwasi Kwarteng refutes Fourth Estate’s “malicious” report on free Wi-Fi audit

Former Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, Esq., has refuted what he describes as a “malicious and defamatory publication” by The Fourth Estate, which linked his image to alleged irregularities in the Ministry’s Free Wi-Fi for Schools project.

In a statement issued on Thursday, November 6, 2025, Kwasi Kwarteng accused the media outlet of deliberately misrepresenting the findings of the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report to tarnish his reputation and mislead the public.

“The publication maliciously features my image to create an impression of wrongdoing in my former capacity as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education. The said publication deliberately misinterprets the findings of the 2024 Auditor-General’s report, to sensationally recycle and vindicate their earlier discredited claim that the Ministry paid GHS 56 million to Busy Internet for no work done.”

According to him, The Fourth Estate’s report was built on a “flawed and misleading interpretation” of the Auditor-General’s findings, stressing that the report merely documented accounting records of payments made by the Ministry between February 2020 and October 2023, amounting to GHS 430,516,872.11, not evidence of financial misconduct.

He explained that the Auditor-General’s recommendations were aimed at improving monitoring and invoice validation processes and did not amount to a personal indictment of his integrity.

“Nowhere does the Auditor-General’s report support the sensationalist claim that these funds were paid without any service being rendered. By taking aggregate audit figures out of context, The Fourth Estate has manufactured a sensational headline that distorts the truth,” he noted.

Kwasi Kwarteng also rejected what he called the media outlet’s attempt to “personalise an institutional matter” by using his image in its publication. He said the move was a deliberate effort to “malign my reputation and mislead the public for cheap publicity.”

He further questioned why his name and image were being associated with a contract that, according to him, “predates my tenure at the Ministry.”

“Was I the Minister or the contract signatory? Otherwise, why would my image be headlined in connection with a contract that predates my tenure?” he quizzed.

While reaffirming his respect for factual investigative journalism, the former Education Ministry spokesperson accused The Fourth Estate and its “shadow director,” Manasseh Azure Awuni, of engaging in “deliberate spinning and misinformation” motivated by “political hatred”.

Kwasi Kwarteng urged the media outlet to uphold fairness and professional ethics in its reporting, insisting that the public deserves “accurate information, not manipulative headlines or decontextualised figures designed to stir outrage.”

He concluded by emphasizing that the Auditor-General’s report addressed systemic monitoring challenges, not individual wrongdoing.

“The facts remain that the Auditor-General’s report speaks to systemic monitoring challenges, not personal wrongdoing,” he stressed.