Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee in Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak, has demanded that government provides reasons why vendors are yet to be paid after the House approved enormous sums of money for the Free Senior High School (FSHS) initiative.
His concerns comes on the back of a picketing exercise by National Food Suppliers Association on July 5, 2023 that left them to spend four nights at the National Buffer Stock Company’s offices in demand for their money.
During a media engagement on Thursday July 13, 2023 the Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee indicated that the Minister of Finance must explain to Ghanaians why they owe suppliers.
“With regards to Food Suppliers who call themselves Food Suppliers Association who claim that cumulatively they are owed some 270 million Ghana cedis. When the Ministers brief the august House of Parliament the rest of us will have the opportunity to comment,” he said.
“We will ask the Ministers what the monies that we have been approving are being used for. For example in 2021 we approved 1.9 billion the year before that 2020 we approved 2.4 billion and 2022 we approved 2.3 billion and 2023 we have approved 3 billion Ghana cedis. Cumulatively since the program started since 2017 till date we have approved 11.9 billion Ghana cedis,” Dr. Apaak stated.
The leadership of National Food Suppliers Association have rejected part payment of money owed them by the government after a meeting with the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
The group who last Friday suspended their picketing at the premises of the National Buffer Stock Company after 4 days of sleeping there were assured of steps to get their about 270 million cedi debt owed them paid by the 17th of this month.
However, after a meeting with the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the food suppliers said the minister pledged that the Ministry of Finance is in the process of releasing part of their arrears this week since government is not in the position to pay the arrears in full.
Thus, Mr Apaak is still yet to ascertain the reason behind government failure to pay the association.
He says there are a number of absolved fees that the government is failing to remit to the schools including ICT, library fees and the cost of maintenance as well as utility.