Food suppliers to receive payments from July 17 - Minister

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, has revealed that the government will start payments of debts owed to Food Suppliers by July 17, 2023.

The Food Suppliers have been picketing the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) since July 7, 2023, to demand payment of GH¢278 million owed them for supplying food to schools under the Free SHS programme.

According to the minister, payments have already commenced.

“Luckily, there has been a reconciliation and payment is being processed for them and it will be paid to them starting July 17. I can assure you that from July 17, those who have supplied and have been cleared will be paid their money,” he was quoted by citinewsroom.com.

He added that the commencement of the payments is not because of the protest.

“There was no need to have the protest for these people to be paid from July 17, they are not being paid because they have protested because we had the timelines on when they were going to receive the money and the protest has only forced us to come out to tell them the date for the payment and so I told them today that it was not because of the protest that they were being paid,” he added.

SSD/OGB