Government owes caterers GH¢101m — Nii Lantey Vanderpuye
A Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr.Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has stated that the government owes caterers engaged in the School Feeding Programme GHC101million as of now.
Answering an urgent question in Parliament Thursday, Mr Vanderpuye explained that the government paid GH¢147 million for 151 school days out of 187 that meals were prepared for pupils for the 2013/2014 academic year.
‘’The total indebtedness as of today is GH¢101 million, which translates into 76 school days covering outstanding 36 days of the last academic year and the remaining 40 days of the first term of the 2014/2015 academic year,’’ he stressed.
The member for Sunyani East, Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, had wanted to know when the indebtedness of the Ghana School Pragramme to caterers nationwide would be settled.
He said the programme, which was started in 2005 to provide one hot meal to 500,000 pupils in basic schools now had 1.7 million pupils financed from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
He further explained that it was meant to increase enrolment and retention of pupils in basic schools and that the Ministry, in collaboration with the assemblies, had set up an integrated committee to monitor the scheme and caterers to ensure the quality and safety of the food provided for the kids.
He gave the assurance that it would not compromise any flaws in the system.
To a question by the member for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, Mr. Frank Annoh-Dompreh, as to whether the non-release of funds from the DACF, which is the major source of funding, would not affect the quality, enrolment and retention of pupils, the deputy minister replied in the negative and said that the ministry was also working out a procedure to raise funds outside the major source to settle its indebtedness to the caterers.
In an answer to another question by Mr. Ameyaw-Cheremeh on the operations of the Centre for Urban Transportation to implement the urban transport project, he said due to some challenges the project was not functioning.
Committee on Ebola
Later in a statement on the preparedness by the security agencies manning the country’s border posts to prevent the possible entry and spread of the Ebola epidemic made by the member for Ablekuma South and the Chairman of the Committee on Defence and Interior, Mr. Frederic Fritz Baffour, he said the committee which visited some selected border posts of the country found out that the level of preparedness and availability of the requisite logistics put the frontline security personnel at serious risk should any infected person arrive at a border.
Mr. Baffour noted that the personnel lacked the basic equipment and kits to handle any cases that may be detected from persons who would enter such posts and called for resources to be provided for them to handle cases to avoid any outbreak of the disease.
He, however, said the personnel were well equipped with knowledge and awareness of the correct procedures with regards to the disease and its repercussions.
In his contribution, the Majority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, called on African leaders to do more, especially in terms of education on the prevention of the disease instead of closing their borders.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh called on the Ministry of Health to set up another research centre such as a branch of the Nugouchi Memorial Centre in the northern sector of the county to handle cases there instead of sending samples all the way to Accra for diagnosis.
In view of the seriousness of the statement and the fact that the Ministers of Health and that of the Interior are expected to brief the house on the disease at a date yet to be fixed, the Speaker directed that the contents of the statement and the comments should be served on the two ministers to apprise them before their briefing of the house.
