The Upper East Regional Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme Georgina Ayamba says she has not received reports of caterers under the programme failing to provide meals for schoolchildren in the region.
Ms. Ayamaba said this in an interview on Breakfast Today on Dreamz FM in response to claims by the opposition National Democratic Congress in the region.
The NDC in a statement signed by its Regional Communications Officer Abdallah Jonathan Salifu claimed caterers under programme have not resumed preparing meals for children at the basic schools since they returned.
This, the NDC said, is attributable to several months of arrears owed the food providers by government.
The party claimed government has failed to honours its financial obligations to some of the caterers for three terms.
While blaming the indebtedness on what it described as government’s incompetence and mismanagement that have put the state in financial difficulty, the NDC said the situation is widespread and could affect school attendance if urgent steps are not taken to address it.
But Ms. Georgina said her outfit has not received any such report.
“As I sit here, I have not gotten any complaint that this particular school is not cooking. Maybe, they are yet to go to schools that are not cooking. My officers visited Kasena-Nankana Municipal and West District. For instance, we visited Paga yesterday and they were providing hot meals for the children even myself enjoyed the food,” Ms. Georgina told host of the show James Nana Tsiquaye.
She indicated her monitoring of activities in various schools in the region showed that the caterers are at posts, providing meals for the kids.
“When school reopened, I went on monitoring visits. I visited schools in Bolga here on Tuesday and Monday. Other schools too, my zonal coordinators went on monitoring visits. I monitored some schools in Bawku. All the schools that I went, they were cooking”.
She wants the NDC to point out any of such schools where caterers have deserted the kitchens.
