The Ghana School Feeding Secretariat has appealed to feeding caterers to reconsider their decision to withdraw their services.
The secretariat says the government is working to ensure the release of funds for the payment of the arrears hence they should resume work.
Speaking to an official by the name Edmund from the secretariat on Plan B FM morning show NKOSUONSEM with Nana Yaw Abrompah, he said the minister of Gender has assured that the caterers working under the School Feeding Programme will receive the 2022 academic year third term arrears due them next week.
“The Gender Minister has indicated that the increase of cost of meal per child are still ongoing adding that the proposal before it currently has an increase from GH¢1 to GH¢1.20. She assured me that her outfit will continue to engage the Finance Ministry to reach a favorable cost for all” he stated
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the caterers in the Ashanti Region under the School Feeding Programme, Dorothy Ofori Sarpong, has revealed that the strike undertaken by the caterers remains in effect.
According to her, She indicated that the caterers, among other things, expressed dissatisfaction with the Minister’s response to their concerns.
“We are not going to cook, we are still on strike, though the Minister has spoken. What she came to say wasn’t to our satisfaction. The arrears that she claimed has been cleared except for the 2022 third term are not so. There are arrears as far back as 2019, 2020, and 2021… So, if she is saying all arrears have been paid, it is not so.
Dorothy Ofori Sarpong
Furthermore, Madam Sarpong rejected the proposed GHC1.20 increment by the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection. She stated that coupled with other factors, the money remains insufficient for the caterers to cook with and is unacceptable.
“With the amount of GH¢1.20 proposal, we are not going to agree. We cannot use this to cook any better food for the children, and so, we pray that she goes back and come and tell us something better.”
Dorothy Ofori Sarpong
The leadership of the caterers under the government’s school feeding program in the Ashanti Region iterated its apprehension over the Gender Minister’s approach to addressing their concerns. Owing to this, the caterers requested the gender Minister to visit various districts to appreciate the challenges of members captured under the program.
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