BY Issah Olegor
The government of President John Mahama has abruptly terminated the contracts of all caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), sparking concerns over the continuity of a vital social intervention originally instituted to combat hunger and extreme poverty among schoolchildren.
In an official letter dated May 2, 2025, signed by the National Coordinator of the GSFP, Hajia Fati Forgor, caterers across the country were directed to cease operations immediately and not to prepare meals for the third term of the 2024/2025 academic year.
While the Secretariat assured that all outstanding payments for services rendered in the second term would be settled in due course, no specific timeline was provided.
This sweeping action forms part of what the Secretariat described as an “ongoing restructuring exercise,” with a promise to announce fresh recruitment modalities for new caterers in the near future.
The notice, however, offered no details on how the feeding needs of pupils would be met in the interim, leaving many stakeholders—including school administrators, parents, and the caterers themselves—scrambling for answers.
The Ghana School Feeding Programme was launched in 2005 under the broader Ghana-United Nations Millennium Development Goals initiative, with the aim of increasing school enrollment, attendance, and retention by providing one hot, nutritious meal per day to pupils in selected public basic schools.
Over the years, the programme has expanded significantly, employing thousands of caterers and feeding over 3 million children nationwide.
Under successive governments, the programme has been lauded as a cornerstone of Ghana’s social protection framework.
However, it has also faced challenges, including funding delays, concerns over food quality, and allegations of political favoritism in the allocation of contracts.
The latest move by the Mahama administration is already generating political backlash.
Critics argue that the decision amounts to a de facto suspension of the programme, at least for the current academic term, and undermines the welfare of schoolchildren who rely on the meals.
While the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), which oversees the GSFP, has yet to issue a public statement, insiders suggest the restructuring could be aimed at replacing the caterers with NDC activists.
Nonetheless, the abrupt nature of the cancellation, without a transition plan or community engagement, raises questions about the administration’s approach to reforming one of Ghana’s most impactful social interventions.
As schools prepare to open for the third term, uncertainty looms over how the vacuum left by the terminated caterers will be filled, and what the future holds for the School Feeding Programme under the Mahama government.
