Following months of arrears due by the government, some caterers under the School Feeding program are considering terminating their contracts.
After repeated failed attempts to collect their two-term arrears, the caterers are still on strike.
They have also demanded an increase in the amount of money provided to them each kid, from $0.98 to $3, citing the rising cost of food as one of the key difficulties affecting their services.
Suppliers have been pestering them for money, which has exacerbated their plight. Samuel Lartey, the Spokesperson for the Greater Accra regional branch of the School Feeding Caterers Association, claimed many of his members had fallen into despair in an interview with JoyNews.
"As a result, the majority of caterers claim they can't go out and prepare anything since they don't have anything to eat, much alone what to make." Even as I speak to you, someone has died as a result of this.
"A lady took a recording of one of her debtors' voice. You can imagine how this woman insulted the caterer — the caterer acted as if she couldn't do anything and even wanted to 'remove' herself. "The majority of people aren't cooking because they don't know where to get money," he explained.
He further stated that the Secretariat's commitment to pay them in May 2022 has yet to be fulfilled, leading many to consider terminating their contracts.
"From the way things are going, if they can't keep this thing running, it'll collapse, because if it reaches a certain point, I'm not sure they'll be able to keep it going."
However, the National School Feeding Secretariat's spokesperson, Siba Alfa, informed JoyNews that payments for third-term 2021 arrears have begun in nine locations.
"We've been working on it since last week. As of last week, we were able to pay Volta, Oti, Ahafo, Bono, Savannah, the North East, and the Western North. We recently finished paying two additional regions — Ashanti Region and Bono East – yesterday [Monday].