Food suppliers operating under the Free Senior High School programme say government’s failure to settle approximately GH¢250 million in outstanding payments has placed severe financial pressure on their businesses and left many struggling to service bank loans used to finance supplies to schools.
The suppliers say they also obtained agricultural produce from farmers on credit, thereby compounding the financial obligations they have accumulated while waiting for payment.
Secretary of the Controlled Food Suppliers Association, Cornelius Koku Logo, said many suppliers relied heavily on borrowed funds to purchase food items for delivery to Senior High Schools.
He explained that suppliers were now facing difficulties meeting their financial commitments because payments for food delivered during the 2024 and 2025 academic year remain outstanding.
Mr Logo said the association had made repeated attempts to resolve the matter through government institutions, including the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the Ghana Commodity Exchange.
He disclosed that the suppliers engaged those institutions in April before writing to the Ministry of Education in July to seek intervention.
He said subsequent follow ups also took the suppliers to the Ministry of Finance as they attempted to secure clarity regarding when their outstanding obligations would be settled.
The association has now issued government a two week ultimatum to begin negotiations and provide a definite schedule for settling the outstanding debt.
The suppliers are demanding a clear and credible payment timetable, arguing that the prolonged delay has placed their businesses, relationships with financial institutions and arrangements with farmers under considerable strain.
The Controlled Food Suppliers Association says the debt relates to food supplied to Senior High Schools during the 2024 and 2025 academic year. Recent reports confirm that the association has demanded an immediate engagement and a time bound payment plan.
