A proposed GHC1.20 increment per child for the National School Feeding Programme has been described as an insult to food and nutrition.
Speaking to the media, the caterers under the School Feeding Programme have rejected the increment suggested by the Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu saying GHC1.20 is unacceptable.
The caterers who have withdrawn their services since schools reopened are demanding that the government increase the daily amount per child and settle outstanding arrears.
The aggrieved caterers are demanding payment of GH¢3.50 per child before they return to work.
According to the spokesperson of the caterers in the Ashanti Region, Dorothy Ofori Sarpong, the Minister’s response to their concerns is highly disappointing.
“We are not going to cook, we are still on strike, though the Minister has spoken. What she came to say wasn’t to our satisfaction. The arrears that she claimed has been cleared with the exception of the 2022 third term are not so. There are arrears as far back as 2019, 2020, and 2021…so if she is saying all arrears have been paid, it is not so.
“With the amount of GH¢1.20 proposal, we are not going to agree. We cannot use this to cook any better food for the children, and so we pray that she goes back and come and tell us something better.”
The caterers have called on the gender Minister to visit various districts to appreciate the challenges their members face on a daily basis.
The Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu during a Meet The Press engagement last Sunday, assured the striking caterers that plans are in place to pay outstanding arrears for the third term of the 2022 academic year.
