Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has indicated that the government plans to increase the daily school feeding allocation per child from GHC 1.50 to GHC 2.00 in the upcoming budget. The new government is set to present its first budget on Tuesday, March 11. As part of the preparation, the finance ministry has been consulting with various stakeholders and groups to gather their input on the budget.
Speaking in a live X (formerly Twitter) Spaces session hosted by social media influencer Kalyjay, Dr. Forson addressed concerns regarding the Ministry of Gender, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program, and the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), acknowledging that the current allocation was inadequate. ” Currently, the government of Ghana pays One Cedi, fifty pesewas per child. Today, unfortunately, we will agree that this amount is too small and it can’t even buy one egg.”, he admitted
“I think I can broadly say that we intend to increase that to a minimum of two cedis per child per day,” he revealed, describing it as a “significant increase”, representing at least a 33% rise in the school feeding budget as an index to inflation. The GSFP, introduced in 2005, has faced multiple funding challenges, including frequent delays in payments to caterers. In 2024, the erstwhile government raised the per-meal allocation from GHC 1.20 to GHC 1.50, but payments to caterers have remained inconsistent. Many have complained about receiving less than the approved amount, with some owed for several months.
In January 2025, Minister nominee for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, acknowledged these payment delays during her vetting and pledged to address them. The GSFP later announced that 40 out of 71 cooking days owed for the first term of the 2024/2025 academic year had been settled, with the remaining 31 days expected to be cleared soon.
Dr. Forson also touched on the Ministry of Gender’s budget, emphasizing that it has received a substantial allocation to support its broader mandate, including tackling domestic violence. However, he declined to provide specific figures ahead of the official budget presentation.
He assured that further details would be made available once the budget is formally presented.
By:
Edem Kojo
