The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has provided clarification on the recent cancellation of school feeding contracts, stating that the decision was reached jointly with the World Bank based on agreed conditions.

In an exclusive interview with Ghana Weekend, the Minister explained that the process wasn’t a unilateral government move but one guided by World Bank requirements.

“We are not doing this alone; we are doing it with the World Bank. There are some criteria and conditions to meet, and we didn’t want to be harsh on the caterers. In all honesty, most of them know they don’t have valid contracts,” she said.

She pointed out that after the last general elections, a directive from the then-program coordinator allowed caterers to keep cooking temporarily. This directive, issued during a transitional phase, caused some confusion.

“We are supposed to move to a digital recruitment system with the support of the World Bank, but because of the academic calendar, we could not implement it as swiftly as we would have liked. That’s why we are asking for time to transition smoothly, it doesn’t mean we should maintain the current system without reform.”

According to her, while schools were on break, most caterers had stopped cooking and were aware of their inactivity.

“School was on vacation, and they are just resuming. Monitoring reports showed that most of the caterers were not cooking, and they are aware of that. Some did cook, but not consistently. So for those saying they made purchases and investments, I do sympathize with them.”

She emphasized that while there is no plan for compensation, those who did offer services during the period will still receive payment.

“Some have sent opinion leaders to speak on their behalf, but I have always reassured them it is not out of vindictiveness. This process is to ensure standards are met and to sanitize the system.”

She further explained that all interested caterers will have the chance to reapply under a reformed digital recruitment system.