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‘SHS Food Crisis Stems From Financial Mismanagement, Not Food Shortages’ – Kofi Asare

Ghana Campus

‘SHS Food Crisis Stems From Financial Mismanagement, Not Food Shortages’ – Kofi Asare

Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has attributed the ongoing food crisis in Senior High Schools (SHS) across Ghana to financial mismanagement rather than an actual shortage of food.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV with Selorm Adonoo on January 18, 2025, Asare stressed the importance of addressing cash flow inefficiencies between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education.

“The cause of the food crisis in our SHS is not a food issue; it is a financial issue. The suppliers delay in supplying because you owe them. If we don’t re-engineer the cash flow of the Ministry of Finance to align with the Education Ministry, particularly for free SHS, food shortages will persist even if schools procure their food themselves,” he explained.

Asare highlighted that delayed payments, especially to smaller suppliers, worsen the problem, as these suppliers lack the financial resources to absorb prolonged payment delays.

“When you owe smaller suppliers beyond 90 days, they face significant challenges. Bulk suppliers might have other credit instruments to rely on, but at the district level, smaller suppliers can’t sustain operations if their cash is locked up. If we decentralize to individual schools, we must fix cash flow issues to avoid transferring inefficiencies from the central level to the schools,” he added.

The comments come amidst widespread concerns about food shortages in SHS, leaving many students without adequate meals.

To address the issue, the John Dramani Mahama administration has pledged to decentralize the food procurement system, enabling headmasters and headmistresses to source food locally instead of relying on central government supplies.

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Lydia Emmanuel is a passionate writer, blogger and vlogger. She enjoys expressing her feelings in her poems and arts.

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