We’ll ensure selection process for school feeding is transparent – NDC MP

Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee of Parliament Dr. Clement Apaak has served notice that the Minority in Parliament will follow the new process in selecting caterers for the school feeding programme to ensure it is done transparently.

Dr. Apaak in responding to a new selection process announced by the government in parliament described it as laudable and added they will demand accountability on how the caterers are selected.

The government has established a new selection process for the school feeding programme through the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.

The process, according to sector Minister Lariba Zuweira Abudu, will include a competitive advertisement.

This was revealed by the Minister when she went before Parliament on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, to answer questions concerning her sector ministry.

Dr. Clement Apaak, Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee, asked for the minister to disclose how the caterers are selected and the current number of them working under the programme.

In response to the query, the minister stated that all 10,832 caterer contracts had expired and that the government was in the process of selecting new caterers.

She informed the House that all 10,832 caterers’ contracts had expired and that she would begin the process of awarding new contracts through a strict regime.

The Minister added that once the contracts of the 10,832 caterers expired, the caterers will be chosen through competitive bidding.

According to the Minister, adverts for prospective caterers will be put in national newspapers, and only qualified caterers will be chosen at the end of the process.

The Minister emphasised that the procedure entails advertising, application evaluation, interview selection, contracting, and allocating caterers to schools, with approvals required at each stage.

In response to the new approach, the Builsa South MP characterised it as rigorous and promised to keep an eye on it to ensure the government followed it to the letter.

“I want to thank the minister for the elaborate response and a well-laid-out process. I will be monitoring to see if indeed she follows the procedure she has narrated.”