Following the government’s failure to pay caterers under the school food program this week, the caterers have been guaranteed that they would be paid next week.
Due to the government’s refusal to pay caterers under the school meal program, they stopped their services.
They complain that they have not gotten their payments for the last two periods, and that this is causing their companies to collapse.
They also want their budget increased from 93 pesewas per kid to GH3.00, citing the exorbitant cost of food and the country’s present economic position as reasons for not being able to feed the students.
The government said last week that financial permission had been granted for caterers to be paid this week.
In a Citi News interview, the Ghana School Feeding Secretariat’s Head of Public Relations, Alfa Siba, stated the caterers could anticipate payment next week instead.
“It is true that the caterers have yet to be paid. However, it is extremely possible that they will get paid by the end of next week. We set the first deadline based on certainty. However, the week has come to a close. So it’s feasible they’ll get paid by the end of next week. “There is a broad economic difficulty that the nation is experiencing,” he stated.
This isn’t the first time the caterers have asked for a raise in the budget.
In 2021, a group of caterers chastised Sara Adwoa Safo, the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, for failing to address their issues.
They claim that boosting the funding to GH3 would allow them to deliver excellent and sufficient meals to students.
School Feeding Program in Ghana
The Ghana School Feeding Program is part of Pillar 3 of the Africa Agricultural Development Programme, which aims to improve food security and decrease hunger in accordance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs) on hunger, poverty, and malnutrition.
A youngster presently receives 93 pesewas per day for a plate of meals from the government.
The quantity is deemed insufficient to offer a balanced and nutritious diet for child growth.