School Feeding Caterers Will Receive Arrears Today- School Feeding Secretariat
School Feeding caterers in some regions will be receiving their arrears from today, Wednesday, June 8, according to the Ghana School Feeding Program Secretariat (GSFPS).
According to the GSFPS Secretariat, the payments will commerce from regions that have lower schools and lower amounts.
These are the Savannah, Volta, Western North, Oti, Bono East, and North-East regions. Edmond Gyebi, Communications Officer at the GSFPS revealed the news in an interview with an Accra- based station responding to the distress of the caterers.
The Greater Accra Reginal School Feeding Caterers Association held a press conference on Tuesday to react to the unpaid arrears and how it was affecting their work.
At their conference, they threatened not to cook for pupils should the government refuse to pay their arrears. Responding to their lamentations, Edmond Gyebi explained, “we are going to start payment today”.
” We are going to pay regions with lower enrollment and lower amounts. These are Savannah, Volta, Western North, Oti, Bono, Ahafo, Bono East, and North-East regions.
‘The government has given us an amount of GH¢50 million out of the GH¢ 238million”. ” We are paying some regions and leaving others because of the amount we have received now.
We are paying 68 cooking days which forms the third term of the 2021 academic year”. Edmond Gyebi advised the caterers to be poised and bear with the Secretariat. ” They should understand that things are not always going to be like this always.
We apologize for the delay but within the week, the remaining amount would be released.
Within next week, up to Wednesday next week, every caterer in Ghana should receive his or her money.
That is the assurance we have received from the Controller and Accountant-General. ”Any caterer who has not cooked, there will be a deduction on his or her money.”
We call it non-cooking days. All the days that they did not cook, trust me, they will be deducted from their monies”, he added.
Story By: Akosua Marfowaa Diana
