Mr Bagbin explained that though there are Parliamentary Committees assigned to perform their oversight responsibilities over these state institutions, it is his duty as the Speaker to familiarise himself with these institutions.

This, he believes, will help him know their challenges and appreciate their concerns when they are brought before the House.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Buffer Stock Company, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, welcomed Mr Bagbin to his outfit.

Mr Abdul-Wahab disclosed that the staff strength has been increased and their offices have expanded from operating in three regions to all the 16 regions.

This, he noted, has been the case since he took over in 2017, therefore, their inputs have improved.

He, however, mentioned the lack of big warehouses and inadequate allocation of funds as major challenges for the company.

At the School Feeding Programme Secretariat, the National Coordinator, Mrs Gertrude Quarshigah, revealed that most of the caterers are complaining because the current 97 pesewas per head for a day is woefully inadequate considering the increase in prices lately.

She indicated that the caterers are asking for Ghc 3 per head but she can also feel the pain of government in the wake of economic crisis across the globe.

She assured the caterers that all outstanding payments would be made as soon as the Controller releases funds.

The Speaker, on his part, assured the institutional heads that he will lead the House to make sure that enough funds are allocated to solve the above-mentioned challenges.

Reports indicate the accident occurred at St Stephen’s Senior High Technical School (STEPSS).

This was on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, while the truck driver was crossing a wooden bridge after offloading bags of flour at the school.

The driver reportedly ignored a road sign, cautioning loaded and heavy-duty trucks not to use the bridge coupled with advice from the headmaster, Samuel Anarfi Asante to use a different route.

Mr Anarfi is said to have explained to him the bridge has been in a deplorable state for a long time while several letters written to the municipal assembly and other relevant institutions are yet to yield any positive results.

But the driver who had just crossed the bridge was confident he could crossover with the remaining 80 bags of flour.

Unfortunately, the bridge collapsed midway through the trip, causing the truck to topple over and landed on the side of the road.

The driver and other occupants however escaped unhurt though the bags of flour fell into a nearby ‘stream’ and wet the goods.

The students of STEPSS came to his rescue to help carry the flour to a safe spot.

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According to the outfit, as a deliberate policy, the government decided to use the Free SHS to support local farmers and the poultry industry.

It explained that mackerel and eggs have been part of the National Approved Menu for students since September 2017 when the Free SHS programme started and the situation has remained the same to date.

“Government decided that Mackerel be supplied by NAFCO, together with 17 other food items, which are described as non-perishable foods such as Cocoa Powder, Vegetable Oil, and Mackerel,” the outfit said in a statement.

The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, in a Facebook post, had alleged that the government, in January 2021, contracted one Lamens Ventures to supply imported Chinese mackerel to all SHS in Ghana.

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The post further claimed that since the company started supplying the China mackerel, many schools have started doing one egg a week instead of three, previously.

The supply of mackerel to schools, Mr Asare said, has reduced egg consumption by 70% and created unemployment, especially among poultry farmers.

However, the statement explained that the schools were mandated to be in charge of the purchase of other items considered as ‘perishables’, which included eggs and fresh fish.

It said purchases under the perishables are done with a 30% budget given directly to the schools by the Ministry of Education.

“There has not been any policy that compels SHS not to buy eggs. The mackerel and eggs are not mutually exclusive. Schools can buy eggs if they so wish, in addition to the mackerel supplied by NAFCO.

“LAMENS had been one of NAFCO’s many licensed suppliers since the inception of the Free SHS programme in September 2017 and not just one emerging as being claimed by Mr Asare in the Facebook post,” the statement clarified.