Some DCEs are sabotaging School Feeding Programme - Nuako

Cape Coast, Aug.23, GNA - Mr Kwame Nuako, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, on Tuesday said some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives were sabotaging the effective implementation of the programme. He noted that most of them were not "working fast enough" to put facilities such as kitchens, storerooms and canteens in place to implement the programme in their areas.

"As a result, the programme would be able to cover only 500 out of the 1,000 schools projected to benefit throughout the country, this year, " he added.

Mr Nuako, made the observation when addressing the opening session of a day's 'Consultative Workshop for Stakeholders on the Programme' in the Western and Central regions, at Cape Coast.

The workshop was geared towards evolving strategies to accelerate implementation of the programme.

Mr Nuako therefore, asked MMDCEs lagging behind to ensure that facilities for the programme were provided as early as possible. He said the government had so far spent about 17 billion cedis to feed 63,000 pupils in 200 schools throughout the country currently instead of the expected 155,000 pupils by the end of the year. Mr Nuako noted that the successful implementation of the programme "could form the basis for assessing their performance in future". He said the programme was being reviewed to include children in the kindergarten in public schools and hinted that the Netherlands government had pledged to support the programme when it was extended to kindergarten children.

Mr Nuako said provision of items for the programme such as cooking utensils would soon be decentralized and commended the Central Region for being the first to implement the programme. Nana Ato Arthur Central Regional Minister, said about 481 million cedis had so far been spent on the programme on pilot basis in 26 schools in the region.

He reiterated the government's commitment to the successful implementation of the programme.

Nana Arthur urged implementation committees to be transparent in the discharge of their duties and eliminate any factors that would affect the effective and efficient implementation of the programme.