The Upper East Regional Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Fawzia Yakubu Abagnamah, has revealed that the programme under the previous government was riddled with serious irregularities, including the payment of caterers for services they did not render.
Speaking on Bolga FM 102.7MHz, Madam Fawzia disclosed that in some schools across the Upper East Region, between four and five caterers were engaged to provide meals on a rotational basis. However, she said investigations showed that even when only one caterer cooked for pupils in a given week, the remaining caterers were still paid despite not providing any service.
She further revealed that in other instances, some caterers were paid for several weeks without cooking at all, a situation she described as a major setback to the smooth implementation of the pro-poor intervention. According to her, these practices resulted in revenue losses to the state and, more importantly, denied pupils their meals, forcing some children to return home hungry after school.
Madam Fawzia noted that the situation has significantly improved since the assumption of office by the government of President John Dramani Mahama. She explained that enhanced monitoring and supervision mechanisms have been put in place to ensure both the quality and quantity of food served to pupils.
“When I took over and went round to monitor, headteachers and teachers told me that it is now that they realise there is school feeding in the Upper East Region, because they were not seeing zonal coordinators and regional coordinators go round to monitor,” she stated.
She said all revenue leakages that existed under the previous regime have now been blocked, leading to improved service delivery and accountability within the programme.
Madam Fawzia also declared a zero-tolerance stance against caterers who flout the guidelines in their appointment letters. She warned that defaulting caterers will first be issued a warning, but persistent offenders will have their appointments terminated.
The Regional Coordinator reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring that the school feeding programme serves its intended purpose of improving school attendance, nutrition, and learning outcomes for pupils in the Upper East Region.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga
