Government Pays School Feeding Caterers 2024 First Term Arrears

The Government says it has through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection paid the first term arrears of caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme in all the 16 regions. It said the total number of cooking days for the first term of the 2023/2024 academic year which began on October 3, 2023, was 58, however, four days were deducted from the total amount due to official communication instructing caterers to use October 3 to 6, 2023 to clean up their kitchen environment. A statement issued by Mr Siiba Alfa, Head of Public Relations of the Ghana School Feeding Secretariat and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said hence, official cooking day for the term commenced on October 9, 2023. According to the statement, consequently, the caterers were paid for 54 cooking days at the rate of one Ghana Cedis twenty pesewas (GHS1.20) per child per every school-going day. It said it was pertinent for caterers to note that the payment was according to the number of days they were able to feed benef iciary pupils during the term. The statement said the attention of the National Secretariat of the Programme had been drawn to some lurid complaints from some of their cherished caterers across the 16 regions over alleged underpayments from the recent payment. Therefore, the National Secretariat, it said, directed that all caterers who genuinely had such issues of underpayment or no payment should immediately report to their Regional Coordinators for prompt redress. The statement said the issues would be thoroughly investigated to ascertain whether all the affected caterers cooked throughout the term or were rather affected by non-cooking days' deductions. The National Secretariat urged the caterers to remain calm whilst they made the necessary efforts to address the issues. ''We take this opportunity to commend our cherished caterers for their endurance, patience and cooperation over the delays in the payment of arrears. We also applaud their dedication and the selfless services they render to our be neficiary children,' it added. Source: Ghana News Agency