IMPLEMENT SFP TO BENEFIT TARGET GROUPS (NOV 28, PAGE 14)

THE Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Colonel Cyril Necku (retd), has asked key actors of the School Feeding Programme (SFP) to roll up the programme well in order to win the hearts of the target groups.
He said the programme was not political but had political undertones, such that any party in government that implemented it well would take credit and win more votes.
He, therefore, cautioned that they should refrain from any malfeasance, saying that “if you are rolling the programme for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), then you better roll it out well”.
Col. Necku was addressing a sensitisation and orientation seminar for district level actors comprising District Chief Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors, District Directors of the Health Services, District Directors of Education, District Directors of Food and Agriculture in Ho.
“We need accountability, selflessness, hard work, dedication and a working environment devoid of bribery and corruption, favouritism and nepotism to be able to achieve our development agenda,” he said.
Col Necku said the SFP was a sure way to achieve human resource development by creating opportunities for easy and ready access to education, particularly at the basic level.
In an address, the Deputy National Co-ordinator of the SFP, Mr Francis Yaw Gyarko, announced that the Dutch government had restored support to the programme following the validation of nine weaknesses associated with it.
He said the plan was to scale up the programme to benefit 1,040,000 pupils by the end of the first phase in 2010, saying that currently there were 1,696 public schools, with 656,624 pupils in 170 districts in the country.
Mr Gyarko said there was well co-ordinated teamwork, adding that an audit implementation committee had finished its work on the 2006 and 2007 audit reports.
“Looking ahead, we need to reposition ourselves and clarify our roles and responsibilities to bring changes in the way the programme is being managed and implemented,” he stated.
The Volta Regional Co-ordinator of the SFP, Ms Edith Akpotor, asked participants to collaborate in order to make the delivery of the programme in the region very effective.
Ms Levina Owusu made a presentation on the overview of the SFP, while a technical advisor, Mr Kwami Nuako, gave presentations on the social accountability project and financial management for GSFP.