The World Bank has emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in the government’s School Feeding Programme.
It has cautioned that financial support for the program may be withdrawn if the necessary reforms to promote transparency and accountability are not implemented.
During an interview on the Business Edition of PM Express, the Country Director of the World Bank, Pierre Frank Laporte, highlighted that this decision aims to ensure that the programme is executed in the appropriate manner.
“We’ve been very clear that in the new project, we expect full transparency and accountability…we are very clear. If government refuses to do school feeding the right way, we will restructure the project and not support that activity,” he told to George Wiafe.
He also said the politicisation of the programme is also a concern for the bank.
The World Bank Country Director added that the Bank does not want its projects to be seen as “political tools.”
“We’ve been talking very directly to both the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Local Government on the School Feeding Programme. Because we know School Feeding Programme can get very political. There can be favours and stuff like that,” he said.
The social intervention programme which started in 2005 seeks to enhance food security and reduce hunger in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals on hunger, poverty, and malnutrition but has been plagued with funding challenges.
Some caterers are currently engaged in a strike due to unpaid grants, and they have declared that they will not cook for school children until they receive the owed funds.
They are determined not to be swayed by mere promises this time. In the midst of this, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana has stated that if an agreement is reached on the conditionality, Ghana is likely to receive the initial installment of $300 million from the World Bank.
The government must present a robust reform package in order for the World Bank to release this $300 million facility, which is intended to provide budget support.
This first tranche is part of a $1.1 billion facility extended by the World Bank to Ghana over a four-year period, aimed at supporting the country’s budget while it is under the IMF program.
Pierre Laporte, the Country Director, mentioned that if an agreement is reached, the first installment of the funds is expected to be deposited into Ghana’s accounts by September of this year.
“Our plan, our hope is we can bring this to the board by September. But it will all depend on how fast we reach an agreement with government on the pro-actions.
“It may be September, it may be October, but we’re hoping we need to do it this year because IMF has factored it into its financing gap,” he said on Thursday.