By Nadia Ntiamoah
The National Democratic Congress government’s decision to terminate contracts under the Ghana School Feeding Programme has triggered significant public reaction, especially among affected caterers.
But the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has stepped forward to clarify the rationale behind the move, attributing it to a collaborative reform process with the World Bank aimed at sanitizing and digitization.
The Minister in a media interview dismissed claims that the decision was unilateral or punitive. Instead, she revealed that the termination of contracts is part of a broader restructuring effort tied to World Bank conditions for continued support.
“We are not doing this alone; we are doing it with the World Bank. There are some criteria and conditions to meet, and we didn’t want to be harsh on the caterers. In all honesty, most of them know they don’t have valid contracts,” Lartey said.
This development comes amid rising tensions from some school feeding caterers who claim they were unfairly dropped from the programme despite prior investments in food and logistics.
However, Lartey insisted that the current system was long overdue for reform and highlighted ongoing inconsistencies and inefficiencies.
The School Feeding Programme, launched in 2005, was designed to provide at least one hot meal a day to pupils in public basic schools to enhance nutrition and improve school attendance.
Over the years, the programme has seen numerous reviews and challenges, including complaints about late payments to caterers, quality control issues, and political favoritism in contract allocations.
The latest shake-up, according to Lartey, stems from a requirement by the World Bank for the government to transition to a digital recruitment and monitoring system.
“We are supposed to move to a digital recruitment system with the support of the World Bank, but because of the academic calendar, we could not implement it as swiftly as we would have liked,” she explained.
“That’s why we are asking for time to transition smoothly. It doesn’t mean we should maintain the current system without reform.”
Citing internal monitoring reports, the Minister disclosed that during the school vacation period, most caterers were not actively providing meals.
“Some did cook, but not consistently,” she noted, adding that while some caterers had continued operations, many had paused services, which factored into the re-evaluation of their contracts.
Lartey acknowledged the hardship faced by those who had made upfront investments and expressed sympathy for their situation.
However, she stressed that while the Ministry does not currently have a policy for compensation in such cases, those who provided meals will be paid for services rendered.
The Minister also addressed growing concerns from stakeholders, some of whom have reportedly sent community leaders and local officials to lobby for reinstatement.
“This process is not out of vindictiveness,” she emphasized. “It is to ensure standards are met and to sanitize the system.”
Importantly, Lartey assured that caterers who are interested in continuing with the programme will have an opportunity to reapply under the new digital recruitment process once fully rolled out.
