The Ashanti Regional President of the Ghana School Feeding Caterers Association, Gifty Asamoah, has expressed deep disappointment and confusion over the sudden termination of their contracts by the government, just days before the reopening of schools.
Speaking on behalf of caterers across the region, she indicated they were caught completely off guard when a letter announcing the termination of their contracts surfaced on Friday afternoon.
“We took loans to purchase foodstuff in preparation for the reopening of schools on Tuesday. Then around 4pm on Friday, we received a letter stating that our contracts had been terminated by President Mahama. We don’t understand why this decision was made without any prior notice” she lamented.
She added that the sudden change has left many caterers in financial distress.
“Most of us are single parents. We went for loans to get food ready, some have already prepared their stews thinking we were going back to work on Tuesday. If the government intended to terminate the contracts, they could have waited until the third term so we wouldn’t go into debt,” she said.
According to her, the news was first seen circulating across social media platforms and later confirmed by reports on multiple radio stations, suggesting that the directive was effective immediately.
“No caterer in Ghana can say they haven’t already bought foodstuff. The ones who haven’t are those who didn’t plan to cook at all,” she emphasized.
Madam Asamoah made a passionate appeal to the Minister for Gender, to intervene and relay their concerns to the President.
“We are pleading with the Gender Minister to speak to the President on our behalf. This decision has serious consequences for our livelihoods,” she concluded.
