Ghana School Feeding Programme in Chaos: Upper West Region Schools Left Without Food
The Ghana School Feeding Programme in the Upper West Region is facing a crisis, with widespread confusion and partisan infighting over caterer appointments, leaving many beneficiary schools without hot meals.
School children are being forced to scavenge for wild fruits in surrounding bushes due to the lack of food.
The turmoil stems from disputes over who should be appointed as caterers, with some Members of Parliament, municipal and district chief executives, and political party members allegedly using their influence to appoint caterers aligned with their interests.
This has led to overlapping claims, clashes, and schools being denied food altogether.
In the Wa West district, numerous beneficiary schools have been denied food, including Duasi Primary School, where no caterer has been present to prepare meals.
Similar tensions are unfolding in the Lambussie district, where the District Chief Executive is accused of allocating schools to party members as caterers, even when those schools already have appointed caterers.
Parents and community members have voiced their frustration, lamenting that their children are no longer receiving hot meals, which has led to increased school dropouts and children wandering into the bush in search of wild fruits.
Education experts warn that unless decisive action is taken, such as a transparent review of appointment processes and enforcement of guidelines, the program will continue to falter, leaving Ghana’s most vulnerable children in the Upper West Region in limbo.
