‘We do not cook unwholesome food for pupils’ – School feeding caterers debunk Auditor General’s claims

The Progressive School Feeding Caterers Association Ghana, has rejected findings in the Auditor General's report, which suggest that some Caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme, serve unwholesome foods to pupils.Madam Dorothy Ofori-Sarpong, Secretary of the Association, at a press conference in Kumasi to respond to the findings, appreciated efforts by the Auditor General's Office to expose wrongdoings, but disagreed with part of the findings on the management of the feeding programme.'Despite the fact that we do appreciate the wonderful work done by the Auditor General, we find it strange that the report generalised the whole caterers cooking unwholesome food for the children,' she told the media.Commenting on the yellowish nature of corn dough used by some caterers for the preparation of food as captured in the Auditor General's report, she explained that it was because of the fermentation process that the dough had to go through.According to her, the safety of the dough is not affected be cause the surface is removed before they are used to prepare the meals.She also made the point that each school had been attached with coordinators who visit the schools unannounced to inspect and taste the food, hence the findings could not be true.As mothers who eat the food themselves just as some teachers, they would not deliberately serve unwholesome food to pupils who they consider as their own children, she insisted.Madam Ofori-Sarpong said they, however, agreed with the report that the quantity of food served by the Caterers is inadequate and attributed that to the insufficient money allocated to each pupil.She also debunked claims in the report that the Caterers were overpaid and rather, submitted that some of their members were owed since 2017.She said the allegations in the public that some Caterers have been stealing foodstuffs supplied by the government were palpable lies because they pre-financed the procurement of the foodstuffs throughout the year and were only paid termly.She appe aled to Non-Governmental Organisations and philanthropists to support the government to improve the quality and quantity of food being served to pupils under the school feeding programme.Source: Ghana News Agency