The National Secretariat of the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) has denied allegations of appointing school owners as caterers.
The secretariat also dismissed accusations that, it recruited its zonal coordinators based on tribal lines.
Dr Kwame Adu-Nsiah, the National Coordinator updated the media in Tamale on the happenings of the programme’s operations in the northern region.
The recruitment process, he said, was conducted in a more transparent manner and zonal secretariats went through a recruitment process to recruit caterers for beneficiary schools without considering their ethnic background.
Dr. Adu-Nsiah said. “The secretariats never consider tribal lineage in recruiting zonal coordinators. The region has seven zonal coordinators and is led by one regional coordinator who is from the Upper West, two Gonjas, two Dagombas, one from Laribaga, and one from Bukpurugu and one from the Nanumg traditional area. The coordinators are in their offices working, we have resolved the issues.”
There were accusations of zonal coordinators owning schools but our checks show that it is not true, the national coordinator explained. “There were no coordinators before the zonal coordinators’ positions came. We realized that and advised them that they either relinquish the caterer service and be coordinators and about two obliged to relinquish their school ownership and opted for the caterers’ position.” he said.
He also added that no zonal coordinator doubles as a caterer, “We should not follow people without facts. We are here working for mother Ghana and wherever one comes from should not be a hindrance to a job.”
The programme, Dr Adu-Nsiah noted, cannot succeed without close monitoring at the community level. There was an orientation for regional coordinators and they were made aware of their duties. On whether everything was okay with the program in the region, Dr Adu-Nsiah said there is no negative issue any more.
He said they are at work, and no national officer undermines the regional coordinator as claimed by some people. Dr. Adu Nsiah also refuted allegations that some national officers were undermining the regional coordinator Mrs.Felicia Tetteh whose office was locked by a youth group called Burma Camp that is affiliated to the governing NPP.
“I signed the appointment of zonal coordinators as the national coordinator with the consent of the sector minister,” he added. “In the hierarchy of the operations, Zonal coordinators reports to regional and the regional to the national monitor, who then reports to the national coordinator and the national reports to the sector minister.”