School Feeding Programme to be audited – Gender Ministry

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection says it will soon carry out a financial audit of the activities of the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) nationwide.

According to the sector minister, Nana Oye Lithur, this is part of the ministry’s action plan to transform the school feeding program.

Nana Oye Lithur, speaking during a stakeholders meeting of the school feeding program in Accra on Tuesday said that they had just finished a rapid audit assessment, which was “going to inform future payments and future programming for school feeding.”

She also revealed that the ministry was planning an independent audit of the scheme with the support of UNICEF.

“We are going to commence a comprehensive financial audit of the school feeding program. UNICEF is supporting the school feeding program to conduct an independent operational performance assessment.”

She added that this independent audit would commence in January.

Government handed over the management of the School Feeding Program to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in August this year.

The program was originally under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

The policy driving the progamme intends to provide one nutritious meal each school day for all infant and primary school children from ages four (4) to twelve (12) years.

The programme was established in 2005 with collaboration between Ghana and the Dutch Government as a means to boost domestic food production and increase school enrollment, attendance and retention among kindergarten and primary school children.

In recent times, the managers of the programme have been criticized and accused of mismanagement.

Government has been blamed for apathy in its inability to adopt measures to sustain the policy due to low budgetary allocation, poor nutritional content, and the non-payment of salaries of the caterers, among others.