Clement Apaak, Member of Parliament for Builsa South and ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, has rebuked the government for waning in its duties, when it comes to providing available resources for caterers, under the School Feeding Programme.
Dr. Apaak claimed, the 97 pesewas per child, is sadly laughable and an impossible situation, where caterers are expected to prepare nutritious meals for the basic school pupils.
“It is not about economic resources, maybe in an economic crisis, recklessness, borrowing, barefaced corruption and the tendency to blame everyone else, apart from those managing the economy for our current predicament…It is about misplaced priorities.
“The amount allocated to the school feeding programme is Ghc969m. So why is the government failing to pay the caterers and why is the government adamant to increase the fee to feed the child per day? And yet, the same government can actually find money to support a tree planting exercise, when that tree planting exercise is not captured under the government flagship projects.”
Dr. Clement Apaak
The Builsa South MP, further encouraged the government to mobilize resources to cater for people who survive under critical social intervention programmes, despite the many economic challenges confronting the country.
However, Caterers under the School Feeding Programme have resolved to continue with their strike, until the government agrees to pay them GH¢3.50 per child. The aggrieved caterers, declared a nationwide strike on Wednesday, April 26, following the government’s failure to pay them their arrears and increase the amount per child.
Kwame Amankwaah, the National Organizer of the School Feeding Association, in an interview, averred the association will only return to the kitchen, if the government agrees to increase the amount per child from 97 pesewas to GH¢3.50.
As said by him, there has been a huge increment on the prices of goods and services and thus, have made it difficult for caterers to manage the 97 pesewas, which is given them by the government.
“97 pesewas for a child, how? Check around, one egg is GH¢3, how do you cook for a child for 97 pesewas? And you are asking us to go and cook, things are expensive and the amount given us is woefully inadequate. If they are able to give us at least GH¢3.50 per a child, we can manage it.”
Kwame Amankwaah
School Feeding Secretariat Working Tirelessly To Meet Demands Of Caterers
Alfa Siba, the Public Relations Officer for the School Feeding Secretariat, disclosed that the Secretariat is collaborating with the government to ensure that the demands of caterers of the School Feeding Programme are met, to enable their return to cook for pupils across the country.
Mr. Siba, who bemoaned the strike action by the caterers, pleaded with them to return to the various beneficiary schools, while the Secretariat worked to resolve and honor their demands. He disclosed that the government in its 2023 budget statement, approved an upward adjustment of the grant per child, pending disbursement in accordance with the caterers’ demand for a raise in the amount the government is currently spending, to feed students per day.
“Minister of Finance indicated in this year’s budget that the government has approved an upward adjustment of the grant. The caterers want the current grant of 97 pesewas per child, be increased to GH¢3.50. And we are looking at it, and I am sure in the coming days, we will hear something about the increment that will be mutually acceptable to all of us.”
Alfa Siba
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