Free SHS: Gov’t Pays GH¢62m To Buffer Stock Company

An amount of GH¢62,606,403, in three instalment payments for the delivery of food items to Senior High Schools in the country has been paid to National Food Buffer Stock Company by the Ministry of Education.

Hence, food items will be delivered to various school by suppliers contracted by the Buffer Stock Company for the first term of the academic year.

Non- perishable food items will be supplied to boarding schools through the Buffer Stock Company under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure smooth implementation of the Free SHS Policy.

The Buffer Stock Company has been contracted to serve as an interface between suppliers and schools with the sole aim of ensuring quality and providing standardized food products to promote local content.

The list of food items supplied to schools is in strict adherence to the agreed national menu for schools.

The Government’s engagement with the Buffer Stock Company is to ensure that the various Senior High Schools in the country are supplied with locally produced food items in order to create a ready market for local farmers.

50 contracts from various suppliers  to various Senior High School were cancelled by the Ghana National Food Buffer Stock due to non-performance of those suppliers.

This action was taken to ensure that Buffer Stock does not compromise in terms of the timeliness of its delivery.

Presenting the cheque to the CEO of Buffer Stock Company, the Coordinator of Free SHS Program, Mr William Antwi Darkwah, called on Heads of Schools and suppliers to submit their returns to expedite efforts to clear all payments.

The Deputy Food and Agriculture Minister, George Oduro, told Parliament last year that the National Buffer stock company had put in place measures to purchase harvested farm produce from farmers signed unto the Planting for food and jobs programme in connection to implementing government’s flagship programmes ‘Planting for Food and job programme’.

The programme is expected to be rolled out in all 216 districts of the country and will involve the supply of farm resources such as high yielding and improved seedlings to participating farmers.

The government said the programme will create some 750,000 jobs and would motivate farmers to grow staple foods such as maize, millet, and beans.

Source: Citifmonline