The impasse between the coordinators of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) in the Northern region has been resolved amicably.
The National Coordinator of the Programme, Dr. Kwame Adu-Nsiah and the Communications Officers of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on Monday October 30, 2017 met with the Regional and the Zonal Coordinators in Tamale to address the impasse.
The seven Zonal Coordinators pledged their readiness to work under the supervision of the Regional Coordinator, Felicia Konaah Tetteh and charged her to disabuse her mind from all the negative impressions she had held against them, the sector Minister and some National officers of the programme.
Madam Felicia Tetteh who initially expressed her outburst apparently due to the misconceptions she held, blamed her behavior on the lack of efficient information flow from the top to her office.
She maintained that she had nothing against any of the Zonal Coordinators and therefore called on them to be submissive and recognize her as their superior without any malice.
One of the Zonal Coordinators, Hajia Suraiya Manan thanked Madam Felicia Tetteh for pouring out her frustrations and seeking clarification into some issues of concern.
She on behalf of the other Zonal Coordinators appealed to the Regional Coordinator to forgive them if they had wronged her and equally charged her to open up to them to ensure a smooth working relationship and the success of the GSFP.
The National Coordinator of the GSFP, Dr. Kwame Adu-Nsiah expressed his gratitude to the coordinators on behalf of the sector Minister for putting the GSFP above their parochial interest.
He urged them to disassociate themselves from all the faceless individuals who were trying to knock the heads of the Regional Coordinator and the seven Zonal Coordinators together on tribal lines.
Madam Tetteh prior to the meeting held the impression that the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba had deliberately appointed only Gonjas as Zonal Coordinators to undermine her authority and make it difficult for her to work.
However, a cross- examination by the National Coordinator, Dr. Adu-Nsiah during the meeting in the presence of Madam Tetteh revealed that out of the total of seven Zognal Coordinators, only two were Gonjas. Three of them were Dagombas, one Moshie and one Konkomba.
This revelation highly allayed the fears of the Regional Coordinator of the GSFP to work with her seven subordinates.
Madam Tetteh who was accusing the Gender Minister of refusing to consult her before the appointment of the GSFP caterers in the region, was properly informed by the National Boss of the GSFP about the processes involved in the caterer’s appointment.
Dr. Adu-Nsiah stated that the mode of operations of the programme cuts across the entire nation and it was therefore not true that the Northern Regional Coordinators alone was being undermined.
She earlier thought the zonal coordinators were trying to undermine her authority by sending reports to the National Coordinator but she was made aware by National Boss that a copy of every report from the zonal coordinators was supposed to be sent to the National Monitor of programme in Accra, Madam Dina Aframa Karikari.
It would be recalled that a vigilante youth group of NPP calling itself Burma Camp locked up the Northern Regional office of the Ghana School Feeding Programme because according to them, appointments of the officers were done based on tribal lines.
They maintained that until the positions were fairly distributed, the offices would remain sealed but responding to their concerns, the National Coordinator said they acted based on rumour and that it was at variance with the reality.
Dr. Adu-Nsiah also met with the various youth groups as well as the Executives of the New Patriotic Party to explain issues surrounding the operations of the Ghana School Feeding Programme especially in the Northern Region to them.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/Eliasu Tanko with additional files from GSFP
