GH¢2.3 million overpaid to caterers in School Feeding Programme in 2022 - Report

A performance audit conducted by the Auditor-General on the management of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) has revealed that approximately GH¢2.3 million has been overpaid to caterers.

As reported by citinewsroom.com, the Auditor-General carried out the audit from August to October 2022 at the GSFP National Secretariat in Accra, as well as in the Ashanti, Eastern, Greater Accra, Upper East, and Western Regional offices. The audit covered the period from 2017 to 2022.

The report also found that the food provided by the caterers was insufficient to sustain pupils throughout the instructional period or school day.

Launched in 2005, the programme currently feeds over 4 million pupils in more than 12,000 public basic schools across 216 districts.

Additionally, wrongful payments amounting to GH¢274,235.29 were made to caterers who were not contracted under the programme. The national secretariat also failed to recover an outstanding amount of GH¢831,776.00 realised from the sale of Caterer Application Forms.

The Auditor-General has therefore recommended that the National Coordinator implement measures to identify and retrieve all outstanding wrongful and overpayments made to caterers, as well as the funds generated from the sale of the application forms.

JKB/ ADG

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