A recent performance audit by the Auditor-General has uncovered significant issues in the management of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP).
The audit, conducted from August to October 2022, covered the period from 2017 to 2022 and examined the programme’s operations at the national secretariat in Accra as well as regional offices in Ashanti, Eastern, Greater Accra, Upper East, and Western regions.
The key findings of the audit include:
Overpayments to Caterers: The audit revealed that approximately GH¢2.3 million had been overpaid to caterers under the programme.
Inadequate Meal Portions: The audit also found that the food served by the cooks was not adequate to sustain the pupils through the school day.
Wrongful Payments to Uncontracted Caterers: The audit uncovered that wrongful payments amounting to GH¢274,235.29 were made to caterers who were not under contract for the programme.
Unretrieved Funds from Caterer Application Forms: The national secretariat failed to retrieve an outstanding amount of GH¢831,776.00 realised from the sale of the Caterer Application Forms.
The Ghana School Feeding Programme, launched in 2005, currently provides meals to over 4 million pupils in more than 12,000 public basic schools across 216 districts in the country.
The Auditor-General has recommended that the National Coordinator take immediate action to identify and recover the identified overpayments and wrongful payments, as well as the unretrieved funds from the sale of the application forms.
–
Story by: Cindy Selasi Humade | univers.ug.edu.gh
