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The Member of Parliament for Builsa South and ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Clement Apaak has berated the government for failing to provide funds for caterers under the School Feeding Programme.
In Dr Apaak’s view, the 97 pesewas per child, is woefully inadequate and impossible for the caterers to prepare any nutritious meal 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 Apaak added that despite the many economic challenges confronting the country, the government should mobilise resources to cater for people who survive under critical social intervention programmes.
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.
In an interview on Eyewitness News, the National Organiser of the School Feeding Association, Kwame Amankwaah said they will only return to the kitchen if the government agrees to increase the amount per child from 97 pesewas to GH¢3.50.
According to him, prices of goods and services have skyrocketed making it difficult for caterers to manage the 97 pesewas government gives them which has been in arrears.
“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”.
