Electronic payment of school feeding grant saves govt GH¢24 million
The introduction of the electronic payment of feeding grants to caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) has saved the government GH¢24 million.
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As part of measures to streamline the system for disbursement to its caterers, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, mandated with the ministerial responsibility of the programme, started the payment of feeding grants to caterers electronically early this year.
The Gender Minister, Nana Oye Lithur, made this known when she paid a working visit to the Mantse Tackie Tawiah Primary and the St Mary’s Anglican Primary schools, both under the Osu Klottey Metro in Accra, to monitor the free registration of pupils with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) yesterday.
E-payment system
Nana Oye said the e-payment system was instituted to ensure transparency, accountability and value for money, which are very crucial in the delivery of a sustainable school feeding programme.
She said the innovation had addressed and curtailed the delays associated with the previous system where in some cases, it took more than two months before caterers were able to access their money after the government had long released the funds to the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.
The minister said all caterers under the school feeding programme had been paid their arrears with the introduction of the e-payment system.
Pupils registered on NHIS
A total of 2,400 pupils in the two schools are expected to be registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by the end of the exercise tomorrow, Friday, June 17, 2016.
One thousand five hundred pupils are to be registered at the Mantse Tackie Primary School, while 900 pupils of the St Mary’s Anglican Primary School would benefit from the free NHIS registration programme.
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Nana Oye also used the opportunity to distribute items such as pens, pencils, toys, sharpeners, colour pads, erasers, socks, towels, toothpaste, story books and sweets to the pupils.
She encouraged them to study hard to become great men and women in future.
Government’s commitment
Speaking to the media during the visit, Nana Oye said the free NHIS registration was in fulfilment of the government’s commitment to ensure that children in the country received the best of care.
She said the registration would go on nationwide in all schools that are beneficiaries of the School Feeding Programme.
More than 130,000 pupils have so far been registered and issued with their NHIS cards.
She further mentioned that the registration would help in checking the enrolment of pupils on the feeding programme.
Feeding programme key to SDG achievement on poverty
The National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme, Mr Patrick Achampong, said effective implementation of the programme would play a key role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on poverty.
He said the programme had helped in the enrolment of children in schools and also helped in nourishing them.
He was of the view that the programme represented one of the major initiatives that the government was using to promote social protection and inclusion.
Mr Achampong added that more than 1,700 pupils in 216 districts were benefiting from the feeding programme.