President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced a sum of GH₵31million has been released by the Ministry of Finance to settle arrears owed to school feeding caterers in the country.
Last month, caterers have raised concerns of non-payment of their arrears with leadership of the programme, failure to which they have threatened to discontinue cooking for the pupils.
But a statement signed by Head of Public Relations at the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Siiba Alfa has assured caterers of payment of the first term arrears.
The statement also commended the caterers for their patience over the delay in the payment of the first term arrears, while also lauding the caterers’ dedication to provide daily meals for school children across the country, adding the arrears would be paid soon.
However, this challenge is about to be resolved as President Nana Akufo-Addo I an interview on Takoradi-based radio, Skyypower FM September 4, 2021, has announced that government is in the process of clearing the arrears owed the caterers.
The president in answering question from the host of the program concerning the plight of the school feeding caterers said, “I am happy to announce that payments have been made to caterers in all the regions. It is true that caterers in the Western and Western North were not paid due to insufficient funds. That has been resolved. The Ministry of Finance has released GH₵31 million cedis for the payment of caterers”.
The president also has assured that steps are being taken to address other challenges facing the programme, adding that such interventions are dear to his heart and will do all he can to ensure the caterers’ needs are provided.
Increment of grant per child
Last week, some caterers who are cooking for the Ghanaian basic schools under the School Feeding Programme have called on government to increase the grant per child from GH₵1.00 to GH₵3.00.
The caterers have cited recent hike in prices of ingredients used in preparing the food for the pupils as well as describing the GH₵1.00 per child as woefully inadequate.
They therefore threatened to discontinue with the programme if government fails to take steps to address their concerns.
The caterers who grouped themselves under the umbrella name ‘Touch one Touch all’, have expressed disappointment in the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sarah Adwoa Safo, for failure to address the issue when they first raised it.
