Caterers, Ga East officials clash over school feeding contract

Caterers under the School Feeding Programme in the Ga East Municipal Assembly are fuming with anger over plans by the Assembly to charge them Ghc300 each to renew their contracts when they have not been paid since August 2014.

The caterers, numbering over 50, say they don’t understand why officials of the assembly are insisting they dole out Ghc300 to renew the contract they have with them “when they have not paid us since last year August.”

Speaking to The aL-hAJJ on condition of anonymity, the caterers intimated that they were forced to take loans to provide food for the school children of which they have not been paid and the banks are threatening to take them to court.

“The nature of our work is such that we take loans from the banks to buy food items to cook for the children and when we are paid, we then pay the banks. But since August last year, we have not been paid and the irony is that the assembly is pursuing us to pay Ghc300 to renew our contract with them. They claim our contract with them had expired and we need to renew it,” one of the caterers stated.

Another caterer (name withheld) noted that “When we were first contracted to start doing this job, we didn’t pay a pesewa to the assembly. In fact, since we started doing this job, no one has ever asked us to pay money to renew our contract. It was in March this year that we had a letter instructing us to pay Ghc300 to renew the contract because it had expired.”

She cried out “where are they expecting us to raise that money to pay? Do they want us to go to the banks we owe to borrow the money? That is not possible. No bank will be willing to give you money when you’ve not paid the one you took from them.”

Indeed, a letter dated March 23, 2015 and signed on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive for Ga East by the Municipal Coordinating Director, Martin Dassah, sighted by The aL-hAJJ, instructed the caterers to renew their contracts with the assembly.

The letter reads “management wishes to notify you of the expiration of your contract as caterer for the School Feeding Programme within the Ga East Municipal Assembly which came to an end in January 2014. You are cordially requested to re-apply for renewal of your contract if you are interested.”

When contacted, the assembly’s budget officer, Torgbe Tali, who spoke on behalf of the MCE, John Kwao Sackey, confirmed that the assembly has indeed instructed the caterers to pay the Ghc300 to renew their contracts with the assembly.

He explained that “if the caterers tell you that when they were first engaged they did not pay anything, it is true. It is also true that we have asked them to pay Ghc300 to renew their contracts with us. They are agitating because it’s a new policy…but the fact is that this is not our own policy.”

He went on to explain that “when external auditors came to audit our accounts, one of their recommendations was that we register all businesses operating within the municipality, especially those who have contract with us. So in line with that recommendation we wrote to the caterers to register with us. The registration fee is Ghc300 which must be renewed every year by paying Ghc150.”

Reacting to claims by the caterers that they have not been paid since last year August, Torgbe Tali explained “we don’t pay them directly. We only pay them when the money is transferred into our accounts. My brother, delay in payments has nothing to do with our inability to raise funds.”