Government is broke – Mahama’s aide on failure to pay statutory funds

School feeding caterers up in arms

Government releases funds for Free SHS programme

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An aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Edudzi Kudzo Tameklo, has stated that the government’s failure to honour some statutory payments was because it is broke.

He cited the specific cases of the School

Read full articleFeeding and National Buffer Stock Company as signs that the government was at its wits end in terms of honouring its financial obligations.

“The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration has come to their wit's end. The fact being [sic] that government is broke, bottom line. This government has been extremely wasteful," Edudzi Tamekloe said.

He continued: “if you look at the envelope of financial resources available to this administration and how they have wasted that resource to the point that today, the Ghana Buffer Stock, the school feeding secretariat among other institutions that the state owes certain financial obligations to, the arrears alone should tell you the precarious financial situation that we find ourselves in.

“Government is just broke. And no amount of spin can change this fact and if you begin to interrogate the numbers… it becomes very frustrating dealing with these issues,” he stressed on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme.

On the issue of a brewing crisis within the school feeding programme, where caterers are demanding an upward review of their fees, Edudzi said it was worrying that the government had pegged a plate per child at 97 pesewas.

He wondered if the state wanted the caterers to do ‘magic’ by providing a nutritious amount he said was woefully inadequate.

The government last week released GH¢200 million for the running of the flagship Free Senior High School, Free SHS, programme.

According to a Daily Graphic report, part of the amount was supposed to go to the National Food Buffer Stock (NAFCO) for the purchasing of food items, while some will go to the heads of SHSs to cater for perishables.

The remaining amount covers part of last year’s arrears and other expenses such as uniforms, feeding for the boarding students and one hot meal for day students, the report added.