Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, has assured that the government will repay the Ghana National Food Buffer Stock Company’s debt.
He revealed in Parliament on Wednesday, July 20, that the government owes the company GH340 million, but that the government has already paid the Buffer Stock GH327 million this year to enable them to supply food to schools.
“The government is working to pay this outstanding obligation,” he said in Parliament.
The government has been chastised for food shortages in senior high schools.
For example, the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) stated in a statement that the shortage was caused by non-payment of arrears to the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited to send food to schools.
To overcome these difficulties, GNECC urged the government to pay the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited to enable remedy the dire food shortages in the schools.
“The shortage of food has led to students resorting to some form of barter trading. Some students who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that they have only one meal a day.
“In some schools, dried fish are changed into powdered fish and small quantities are used to prepare stew and soup for the students. This situation is making it difficult for them to concentrate and learn.
“GNECC believes that the non-payment of arrears to the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited to send food to Senior High Schools, is to be blamed for the current situation. To overcome these difficulties, GNECC urges the government to pay the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited to enable remedy the dire food shortages in the schools.
“GNECC is encouraged by the Minister for Education’s guarantee that food will be provided to the impacted schools on Tuesday, 12th July, 2022 to address the problem.
“GNECC also urges the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, and the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited to take measures to prevent this situation, which appears to be re-occurring. Besides, we are concerned about the seemingly firefighting approach to dealing with issues concerning the Free Senior High School, which undermine the implementation of the policy.
“We hope that the Minister of Education would ensure that in the interest of the poorest of the poor, for whose sake the policy was introduced, the declaration to provide money and food to the schools will be fulfilled so that our children, particularly those in the final year, can prepare for the forthcoming examinations without a looming threat of disruption.”
