FEEDING PROGRAMME MUST COVER MORE SCHOOLS... In Upper East Region (PAGE 11, NOV 11)

THE Upper East Regional Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga, has underscored the need for more schools in the region to be enrolled in the programme for it to achieve the objective for which it was established.
He noted that the GSFP which is supposed to spearhead the retention of pupils in schools through the provision of nutritious meals to primary school pupils would not achieve its aim if those in very deprived areas were not given priority attention.
He said though it was a well-known fact that the Upper East Region was a poverty endemic area, very few schools were benefiting from the programme.
“Here is the case where we only have 64 schools out of the 1,000 schools in the region benefiting from the programme whereas in other parts of the country where the people are relatively well-to-do, more schools are on the programme”, he said.
He argued that there was no justification in having only four per cent of schools in the region which was regarded as poor covered under the programme, whereas in the Ashanti Region where conditions were relatively better, as many as 29 per cent of schools had been placed under the GSFP.
Mr Atanga said the time had come for a careful study of the programme to enable more children in the deprived communities of the country to benefit from the programme.
One other challenge facing the smooth implementation of the programme was the lack of office equipment and transport facilities, he said, and called on the government to resource the GSFP Secretariat in the region to enable it to function effectively.
The programme currently operates from an office allocated to it by the Regional Coordinating Council, but it lacks chairs and computers for keeping data, he said, adding that officers were, therefore, forced to keep official records in their cars.
The Assistant Director of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mrs Irene Odokai Messiba, said it was important for metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives to monitor the GSFP to help address some of its challenges and improve its operations.
The actual implementation of the GSFP at the district level was done by the district assemblies using the already existing district staff and structures and the direct beneficiaries of the programme were the districts and communities in which the beneficiary schools of GSFP were sited, she stated.
They should, therefore, regard and the programme as their own, she said.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, urged municipal and district chief executives as Chairmen of the District Implementation Committees of the programme, to adhere to due financial management regulations to ensure compliance with all financial regulations.
“Do not engage in acts that will put you and the programme into disrepute and public ridicule. All stakeholders ought to be extremely vigilant to ensure that food suppliers or contractors do not fleece the programme through over-invoicing and other shoddy deals”, she cautioned.
According to her, this will be one of the effective ways of ensuring the sustainability of the programme and encouraging its spread to all basic schools.