The minister of gender, children, and social protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, requested a GH1.20 increase, but the caterers participating in the school feeding program refused it.
The raise is insufficient and unacceptable, according to the caterers.
Since the schools have resumed operations, the caterers have stopped providing their services and are requesting that the government increase the daily allowance per pupil and pay back any outstanding debts.
Before ending their strike, the irate caterers demand payment of GHC 3.50 per child.
The spokesperson for the caterers in the Ashanti Region, Dorothy Ofori Sarpong, voiced her displeasure with the Minister’s reaction to her complaints.
“We are not going to cook, we are still on strike, though the Minister has spoken. What she came to say wasn’t to our satisfaction. The arrears that she claimed has been cleared with the exception of the 2022 third term are not so. There are arrears as far back as 2019, 2020, and 2021…so if she is saying all arrears have been paid, it is not so.
“With the amount of GH¢1.20 proposal, we are not going to agree. We cannot use this to cook any better food for the children, and so we pray that she goes back and come and tell us something better.”
The Ashanti Region’s top caterers working for the government’s school food program have also voiced their displeasure with the Gender Minister’s response to their issues.
