A standoff between some women organisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Galilea Electoral Area and a school feeding caterer has disrupted meal provision at the Galilea M/A Basic School, leaving pupils unfed for two consecutive days.
The conflict, which began on Thursday, June 19, saw the women storm the school premises and forcibly prevent the caterer from serving meals to students, affecting both the morning and afternoon shifts.
Despite the disruption, the group returned on Friday, June 20, determined to stop the caterer from resuming work.
“Until leaders reverse the contract, we will not stop coming here,” said Nana Hemaa, one of the women organisers, in an interview with Citi News.
She claimed party leadership had promised them such opportunities and questioned why the contract had been awarded to someone outside the group.
“We cannot understand why they have awarded it to an outsider. How can we guarantee the safety of the food these children are consuming?” she asked.
The embattled caterer, Suzy Oforiwaa, said tensions had been brewing even before Thursday’s confrontation and accused the school’s headmistress of fueling the standoff.
“One of my cooks told me that the headmistress signalled the women to prevent them from dishing out the food. The headmistress was not in school for a couple of days, and when she returned, she did so with chaos. I am told she came with the women and some other members of the community who chaotically drove out the cooks,” Oforiwaa told Citi News.
She expressed frustration at the attempts to block her from executing a contract she says was lawfully secured.
“I followed all the due processes to get this contract. I don’t understand why I’m being physically prevented from doing my work,” she said.
The impasse has left students without meals, raising concerns about political interference in the administration of the School Feeding Programme.
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