Former School feeding caterers are today embarking on a demonstration over unpaid arrears at the Art Center in Accra.
Background
Caterers of the GSFP picketed at the gender ministry to demand the payment of their arrears of about GH¢200 million.
The caterers, numbering about 30, represented about 5,370 members of the School Feeding Caterers Association who are yet to receive their payments after prefinancing 140 days of cooking for pupils in some public schools.
Expressing their grievances, the caterers said the arrears covered the third term of 2016 and the first term of 2017.
They said they had met with the sector minister days before to discuss the payment of arrears and she had promised that the government would pay the money, but as of yesterday,
they had not received their money.
“The debt is not only for 2017; it starts from 2016 and that is why we are here. When you talk to the leadership, the response you get is ‘come today’, ‘come tomorrow’. So looking at the time and the indebtedness, we decided to come here today and see how we can get our money,” they said.
The Public Relations Officer of the School Feeding Caterers Association, Ms Yaa Duodua, said although there had been a publication in the newspapers that the government had released
money for the payment of school feeding arrears, the caterers were yet to receive any payment for their services.
Administrative issues
The Chief Director of the ministry, Mr Kwesi Armo Himbson, assured the caterers of the government’s commitment to pay the arrears.
He explained to the caterers the reason behind the delay in the payment stating that it was due to the change in government and some administrative issues.
Daniel Koranteng Kwagyiri|ahotoronline.com|Ghana
