Hajia Safia Mohammed, the Ghana School Feeding Program’s (GSFP) immediate past national coordinator, has urged the government to promptly revoke the termination letters sent to program caterers across the country.
She is also calling for a halt on political meddling in the School Feeding Program’s operations and the immediate reinstatement of all district officers who were previously fired by the administration.
This follows the Ghana School Feeding Program’s management’s announcement that all caterers’ contracts would be terminated statewide with immediate effect.
The school feeding secretariat directed that no existing caterer serve meals for the forthcoming third term of the 2024–2025 school year in a formal announcement dated May 2, 2025.
“This abrupt and politically motivated action smacks of nothing but vindictiveness, discrimination, and an utter disregard for the dignity and welfare of hardworking Ghanaian women who have served diligently and faithfully,” Hajia Safia Mohammed said in a statement released Monday, May 5, 2025, in response to this development.
She contends that these caterers, the majority of whom are women with dependents, have dedicated their time, money, and effort to feeding schoolchildren nationwide as a means of subsistence and as a contribution to the advancement of the nation.
“Yet, with no just cause or reasonable notice, they have been dismissed without consideration for the third term of the 2024/2025 academic calendar, a term they were preparing for in good faith. This is not only unacceptable but a clear breach of natural justice and fair administrative process” she stated.
As a sign of statesmanship, the former school feeding coordinator recalled how the former Akufo-Addo New Patriotic Party (NPP) government permitted caterers who were thought to be National Democratic Congress sympathizers to work for a full academic year before being fired.
“I am compelled to remind the public and this government that under the previous administration, when the NDC handed over power to the NPP in 2017, caterers perceived to be sympathetic to the NDC were not summarily dismissed.”
“They were allowed to serve for a full academic year before any decisions were taken regarding the renewal or termination of their contracts.”
“That act of goodwill was a mark of statesmanship, maturity, and a deep understanding of the implications of such decisions on the livelihoods of individuals and the stability of a key national programme” she reiterated.
Furthermore, if the ruling is not overturned, Madam Safia Mohammed has threatened to sue the government.
“I will not hesitate to pursue this matter legally to its logical conclusion, including filing a petition with the, World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP), the Partnership for Child Development, and UNICEF, as well as national organizations like the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Dutch embassy, the International Monitory Fund (IMF), Social Protection and other key partners in the School Feeding Programme, to alert them of the political victimization and targeted maltreatment being meted out to caterers who have served with loyalty, diligence, and competence” she stated.
Source: newsthemegh.com