Lack of cooperation affecting payment of caterers – School Feeding Programme National Coordinator
Mr Seidu Adamu, National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), has blamed the delay in the payment of some caterers on the programme to the lack of cooperation from some district assemblies.
He said some districts on the programme have not provided the necessary returns on time for payment to be effected adding that as at September last year the GSFP received only 1,113,928 as returns for the number of pupils to be feed on the programme.
He said the current figure of 1,113, 928 was an increment over the previous figure of 700,000 as a result of an exercise carried out by the programme to re-target and expand it to cover more schools.
Mr Seidu said this during a stakeholder’s workshop on “Procurement governance in home grown school feeding programme”, in Tamale on Wednesday.
The workshop was organised by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mr Seidu said in spite of this the government had released over GH¢25 million for the payment of caterers in some districts.
He said the names of the defaulting districts which failed to submit their returns on time to the GSFP have been forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and that those found wanting would be sanctioned.
He asked district chief executives and district desk officers of the programme to furnish the GSFP with the names of schools and caterers who had not fed their pupils for various reasons.
Mr Adamu said the workshop was important because one of its objectives was to enhance the collaboration between the local farmers and the caterers to ensure that majority of the food procured was from the local farmers.
The National Coordinator of the GSFP said the programme was also liaising with the Buffer Stock Company to buy local rice for the schools.
He said the districts have already been directed to get their supplies before the end of December adding that the supply would be given to the caterers on credit to enable them pay later.
Source: GNA