Bagbin: I’ll Ensure Funds Are Released To Address Grievances Of School Feeding Caterers

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has said he will spearhead the campaign to address the grievances of striking school feeding caterers in Ghana.

Caterers of the Ghana School Feeding Programme have been on strike since last month over unpaid arrears and inadequate feeding grant.

Bagbin made the promise after paying a surprise visit to the Ghana School Feeding Programme Secretariat to familiarise himself with the operations of the programme.
“At the School Feeding Programme Secretariat, the National Coordinator Mrs. Gertrude Quarshigah revealed that most of the Caterers are complaining because the current 97 pesewas per head for a day is woefully inadequate considering the increase in prices lately,” a statement posted on Facebook said.

“She indicated that the Caterers are asking for GHC 3 per head and can also feel the pain of Government in the wake of economic crisis across the globe. She assured the Caterers that all outstanding payments would be made as soon as the Controller releases funds.”
“The Speaker assured the Heads of the institutions that he will lead the House to make sure that enough funds are allocated to solve the above-mentioned challenges,” it added.

Surprise visit
Meanwhile, Bagbin has also paid a similar visit to the National Buffer Stock Company and the School Feeding Programme offices to ascertain their successes and challenges.

According to the Speaker, even though there are specific Parliamentary Committees assigned to perform their oversight responsibilities over these state institutions, it is his duty as the Speaker to familiarise himself with the challenges of these institutions to appreciate their concerns when they are brought before the House.

Welcoming the Speaker to the Offices of the National Buffer Stock Company, the chief executive officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab noted that the staff strength of the company has been increased and their offices have expanded from operating in three regions to all the 16 regions since he took over in 2017, therefore, their inputs have improved.

He mentioned the lack of big warehouses and inadequate allocation of funds as major challenges of the company.

Source: Asaase Radio