The Government of Ghana, facilitated by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has successfully cleared the outstanding payments owed to caterers participating in the School Feeding Programme across all 16 regions for the first term.
This action is a crucial support measure aimed at sustaining the Ghana School Feeding Programme and ensuring uninterrupted meal provision to students nationwide.
In a statement released on July 1, the School Feeding Secretariat confirmed, “The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has settled the first term arrears of Caterers under the Programme in all the 16 regions.”
The ministry clarified that a deduction of four days was made from the total owed amount.
This deduction corresponded to a period from October 3-6, 2023, during which caterers were instructed to conduct thorough cleaning and sanitation of their kitchen facilities as per established protocols.
“The total cooking days for the first term of the 2023/2024 academic year, which started on October 3, 2023, amounted to 58 days.
However, four days were deducted due to official communication instructing caterers to clean their kitchen environments from October 3-6, 2023. Consequently, official cooking days for the term commenced on October 9, 2023.”
The Ghana National School Feeding Secretariat has directed caterers experiencing issues such as underpayment or non-payment to promptly report these concerns to their Regional Coordinators for immediate resolution.
“The National Secretariat has noted some complaints from caterers across the regions regarding alleged underpayments resulting from the recent disbursement.
Affected caterers are advised to report their concerns to Regional Coordinators for swift redress.”
The Secretariat assured caterers that all reported issues would be thoroughly investigated to ascertain the validity of claims, especially concerning deductions for non-cooking days.
The National Secretariat urged caterers to remain patient and assured them of efforts to swiftly address any outstanding issues to ensure the smooth continuation of the School Feeding Programme.
