Five Committee Members Charged With Investigating School Feeding Programme Saga

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has directed five committees in Parliament to investigate the concerns of the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the School Feeding Secretariat following the recent shortage of food in some Senior High Schools across the country.

According to the speaker his recent visit to the National Food Buffer Stock Company and School Feeding Secretariat revealed that the two entities are facing severe challenges including government’s inability to pay caterers on time.

Mr Bagbin said the caterers, who ceased operations in May of this year, were requesting that their grants be increased from 0.97 pesewas to GHC3.00 per child per meal, adding that a few of them had also threatened to terminate their contracts entirely due to months of non-payment of arrears by the Government.

“I am aware of the extent to which the non-payment of these arrears is affecting school enrolment and attendance, particularly in rural communities,” he said.

“We have all accepted the truism children and youth are the wealth of a nation. The situation we are in now affects the vulnerable school children and future leaders of this country.”

He therefore gave the committees on Education, Gender, Children and Social Protection, Health, Food and Agriculture and finance up to October to investigate the concerns of the National Food Buffer Stock and the School Feeding secretariat and report back to the house.