An aspiring National Women Organizer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Hajia Sawudatu Saeed, has proposed supplying food items to caterers, under the School Feeding Programme, on a three-month credit basis.
This, she believes, would put an end to the disruptions in the supply chain of food items to schools caused by lack of financial commitment to suppliers.
According to Hajia Sawudatu Saeed, she has the capacity to ensure that caterers don’t run out of stock provided she is elected as the National Women Organizer.
“I have already spoken to a company on how to help the school feeding programme. We will supply all the cooks with the necessary items on a three month credit… So that the children don’t run out of food and concentrate on their studies”, she disclosed on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo Morning Show while discussing her ambitions of being a National Women Organizer for the NPP.
She explained that “because if you are doing a school feeding programme and you don’t have funds to pay your suppliers, you will not have the peace of mind to work for the party. But if you get constant supplies it reduces the pressure on the school feeding women and the government can have peace to govern as well.”
Her remarks come at a time when Senior High Schools are complaining of shortage of food for students with some schools threatening to shut down.
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Schools (CHASS) in the Upper West Region noted that food suppliers contracted by Buffer Stock Company are not ready to supply due to non-payment of outstanding debts leading to serious food shortages in all the schools in the region.
The food shortage has caused Parliament to constitute adhoc committees to probe the activities of the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the National School Feeding programme.
Meanwhile, Africa Education Watch, an Education think thank, has called for a review of the feeding component of the Free Senior High School programme.
