Gov’t taking firm steps to clear arrears owed caterers – Minister

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, has assured caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) that government would soon pay all arrears owed them.

She stated that the government had already made GH¢186 million payment through the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) to sustain the programme and asked the caterers to keep faith with the government.

The Minister made this statement when she paid a working visit to Hohoe in the Volta Region.

She revealed an audit was ongoing hence caterers who have given inaccurate numbers of pupils they were feeding to cheat the system would be dealt with.

The National Coordinator, Ghana School Feeding Programme, Dr Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, said the Programme would continue to train caterers and ensure that children were served nutritious meals at school and urged the caterers to work diligently to justify their engagement.

She appealed to caterers to add fruits to the meals, at least once a week.

“In everything you do, you have to be innovative and add value to it. There is an abundance of fruits in the region so it will be nice if you add fruits to the meals you cook for the school children at least once a week to make them happy,” she stated.

The Coordinator said her outfit was touring the regions to ensure that caterers were working to expectations. Some caterers assured the government of their willingness to offer the best services to children they served.

A few of the caterers who said they were handling schools with a high number of pupils advised unemployed youth to enrol on the programme to reduce pressure on them.

Source: GNA