Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta stated that all arrears owed to caterers under the School Feeding Program have been paid.
Mr. Ofori-Atta disclosed this information during the presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review for 2023 in Parliament on Monday, July 31.
“Beneficiaries of the Ghana School Feeding Programme increased significantly from 1,671,777 in 2016 to 3,801,491 in June 2023, according to the Ghana School Feeding Programme.” For the 2023 academic year, the cost per meal, per child, per day increased from GH1.00 to GH1.20.
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“We have also settled all arrears owed to caterers under the program for the second and third terms of the academic year 2022, as well as the first term of the academic year 2023,” he added.
The Minister also reaffirmed the government’s dedication to maintaining social protection programs to safeguard the impoverished and vulnerable.
“As of June 2023, the government has disbursed a total of GH169.95 million under the LEAP program to 346,019 households containing 1,533,740 individuals. This involves the increase of the monthly grant for one-member households from GH32.00 to GH64.00 and for two-member households from GH38.00 to GH76.00. Our goal for this program period is to reach approximately 8% of the population or 2.5 million individuals,” he added.
The caterers declared a national strike on April 27 due to the government’s refusal to pay arrears and increase the per-child payment from 97 pesewas to GH3.50.
This time, the caterers insisted they would not be influenced by empty promises.
