‘Can we use 79 pesewas to cook in Ghana?’ | We don’t care if we’re replaced; pay us our monies first – GSFP Caterers to gov’t
Caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) in the Ashanti region are demanding that government pays them their arrears as well as increase the amount paid per meal for each child.
The caterers, currently on strike, say due to the increase in the prices of goods and foodstuffs, the GHS79 pesewas paid them per child is no longer adequate to cover the cost of a meal.
The caterers therefore besieged the office of the Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah on Monday, 3 April 2022, to air their grievances.
The Minister, however, did not grant them audience.
Speaking to Valentina Ofori-Afriyie on 12Live on Class 91.3 FM, Tuesday, 4 April 2023, the leader of the caterers, Aunty Naa, said they having been crying for an increment for a while now yet that has yielded no positive results.
She indicated that they will stay home till government heeds their call and if staying home on strike will lead to the termination of their contracts, they would not mind.
They, however, want government to priotise the payment of their arrears before anything else.
Aunty stated: “They should pay us our monies fully, all the two terms arrears because, we don’t have a problem. Because the Government himself knows that today you cannot use GHS2 to buy food in the country.”
She stressed that the money being paid per child was inadequate.
“Can we use 7pesewas to cook? When we started cooking at that time, oil was GHS102 per gallon but now that I’m talking to you we buy oil for GHS700 per gallon. We didn’t ask government to give us GHS7 because of the increase in the price of goods on the market so I think the government will listen to us,” she opined.
She added: “Maybe the government does not know what is going on in that Ministry that is why we came out for him to hear our cry.”
The government currently pays 79 pesewas per meal per child under the Ghana School Feeding Programme.
There have been calls for the government to increase the amount to reflect the current increase in the price of foodstuffs.
At the same time, caterers under the programme have constantly called on the government to pay them on time.
Source: classfmonline.com
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