National Coordinator of GSFP, Gertrude Quashigah
The Management of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) has condemned media reports suggesting that the programme which provides daily hot meals to over 3.4 million deprived public basic school pupils has been suspended indefinitely by the Government.
According to the National Coordinator of GSFP, Gertrude Quashigah, the media report circulating is false and highly misleading; and tends to cause fear and panic among the beneficiary pupils, students, and caterers working under the programme.
“NO! Government has not put Ghana School Feeding Programme on hold”.
Mrs. Quashigah emphasized that the Government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is still committed to the implementation of the Ghana School Feeding Programme due to its significant impact on the development of education at the basic level.
The media report emanated from a simple question posed to the Caretaker Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cecilia Abena Dapaah on the floor of parliament by MP for Yilo Krobo, Albert Tetteh Nyakotey seeking to know when the feeding programme will be extended to some schools he mentioned in his constituency.
The Minister in her response stated “Mr. Speaker, currently, the expansion of the programme is on hold. We are clearing all arrears of caterers and putting in place measures to ensure effective and efficient service delivery to all beneficiaries as well as caterers”.
However, according to Mrs. Quashigah, a section of the media decided to twist the facts and reported that the entire school feeding programme is put on hold.
The National Coordinator said the story caused serious damage to the integrity of the ruling Government which is the sole financier of the school feeding programme in Ghana and its technical partners, hence calling on media houses to retract the misinformation.
Mrs. Quashigah said that she had had to sacrifice a lot of time together with her management to talk to distraught caterers of the programme across the 261, districts who were misinformed by the false publication and had felt that their jobs had been suspended indefinitely.
BY Daniel Bampoe