Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government paid all outstanding arrears to school feeding caterers before leaving office.
In this regard, the Effutu MP has said any claims that former President Akufo-Addo left arrears are unfounded.
“Government paid all caterers, and I want you to quote me – the last term. It’s only this term, which has just begun, that government owes because the term will have to end,” he said on Monday.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin made the statement during the vetting of the Finance Minister-designate, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday.
This was after the Minister-designate described the school feeding payment as “woefully inadequate.”
The Ajumako Enyan Essiam MP recalled the picketing by school feeding caterers at the Gender Ministry and Controller and Accountant General’s Department on December 30, 2024.
The caterers were demanding payment of arrears for two academic terms covering 2023 and 2024.
However, the Minority, who disagreed, said otherwise.
“But I want you to know that I am aware that government paid all outstanding arrears to caterers. The NPP government, at the time of leaving office, had paid every single caterer,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin insisted.
He continued, “I learned something from Dr. Forson. I’m not an economist. Mine is law, but we are learning. He once said there’s a difference between releases and payments. So government will release to Controller, and then Controller would have to effect the payment. So you can talk about actual payment when you are in receipt of your payment, Ato, correct? Very well.
“So I would want to use that to clarify an earlier point that I made from the School Feeding Secretariat that government released the entire 72 days owed to the caterers to Controller, and the actual payment received out of those release letters – the letter that goes to Controller – payment received by the caterers was for 42 days, and that the 32 days outstanding is yet to be received by the caterers. So I just wanted that on record, and that becomes your first responsibility to ensure that the Controller complies with the releases.”
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