Don’t politicise school feeding — MPs
Members of Parliament (MPs) have condemned the wholesale sacking of caterers providing services for the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) after a change in government.
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They said it was crucial for the programme to be treated as a national and non-partisan one and for all women irrespective of their political affiliations to be allowed to provide their catering services.
The MPs made the call yesterday following a statement by the MP for Ejura Sekyedumase, Mr Muhammad Bawah Braimah, on the suspension of the GSFP in his constituency.
He said about 14,728 pupils (7,384 males and 7,384 females) were covered by the GSFP in Ejura Sekyedumase.
However, Mr Braimah said, in a letter dated January 12, 2017, the Municipal Coordinating Director of the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipal Assembly indicated that the GSFP had been suspended in the area until further notice.
"I am reliably informed that the decision to suspend this programme is as a result of the impasse between the caterers and some youth in the constituency," he said.
Mr Braimah said if the unfortunate development was not addressed immediately, it might defeat the purpose of the programme and eventually affect the quality of education delivery in the area.
"It is important that going forward, all stakeholders work together to free the programme from politicisation which has the potential to undermine the effective delivery of the programme," he said.
The GSFP, which was started in 2005, is one of the important government initiatives to encourage needy children to go to school. Under the programme, pupils in deprived schools are given one nutritious meal a day.
There are about 5,000 caterers preparing meals for about 1.7 million pupils in 216 districts across the country.
Other contributions
The Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, condemned the takeover of the GSFP by party members after a change in government.
He said it was wrong for political party foot soldiers to determine how the GSFP should be operated.
The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said the GSFP was framed to have a national character and therefore, the situation in which the caterers were booted out each time a new government came in was not appropriate.
Mr Iddrisu said the focus should be on the provision of quality meals at the right time for schoolchildren but not on the political affiliations of the caterers.
