Caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme have kicked against the recent 20 pesewas increment in the School Feeding allocation per child, which translates to Ghc1.20 under the new proposal.
According to them , the increase is woefully inadequate and unrealistic in the face of prices of foodstuffs on the market.
Since the resumption of the new academic year, the caterers have been on strike for weeks due to delayed payments and arrears , whilst demanding a significant increase on the old allocation of Ghc 0.97p.
The striking caterers are requesting that the government increase the allocation of Ghc 3.50 per child.
The spokesperson for the caterers in the Ashanti Region, Dorothy Ofori Sarpong 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 with the exception of 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.
“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.”
The leadership of the caterers under the government’s school feeding programme in the Ashanti Region have also expressed dissatisfaction with the Gender Minister’s approach to addressing their concerns.
The caterers want the Minister to undertake working visits to the various districts across the country to see the challenging conditions under which they work.
Speaking at the Meet the Press series on Sunday, the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu assured the striking caterers that plans are in place to pay outstanding arrears for the third term of the 2022 academic year.
