School feeding programme: caterers in Oti Region not on strike, says regional co-ordinator

Caterers under the school feeding programme have declared a nationwide strike over the government’s failure to pay arrears owed them.

This comes after their counterparts in the Ashanti Region withdrew their services on Tuesday 4 April over the same issue.

The caterers also demanded an increase in the amount paid per child from 97 pesewas daily to GHC3.
They said the current amount is unsustainable because of the state of the economy and its accompanying high cost of food commodities.

The leadership of the caterers has, therefore, urged all members across the country to join the strike to impress on the government to address their concerns as early as possible.

Meanwhile, the Oti Regional coordinator of the school feeding programme, Olivia Yawa Aglago, has said that, notwithstanding the nationwide strike, caterers in the Oti Region are at work.

In an interview with Asaase Radio’s Oti Regional correspondent, Aglago said the zonal directors are monitoring and none of the caterers in the region is on strike.

She stated that the government is aware of the caterers’ complaints and is very much concerned.

The regional coordinator has called on school children not to use the strike as an excuse to be absent from school because the caterers in the region are not on strike.

Listen to an interview with the Oti Regional coordinator below: 

A visit to Amoako D/A Primary School, Jasico Demonstration D/A Primary School and Jasikan SDA school showed that the caterers are still at work.

The regional coordinator called on all caterers to exercise patience as the government is working things out to pay them.

The headmistress of Bueman Senior High School, Rebecca Addy, has expressed her gratitude to the caterers for their commitment even though others have embarked on a nationwide strike.

She appealed to the government to address their grievances so that, her school will not be affected going forward.

Reporting by Solomon Mensah-Ahiable in the Oti Region

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