Accra, Oct. 06, GNA – The Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) has welcomed Government’s initiative to digitise its operations, describing it as timely.
Mr Alfa Siba, Public Relations Officer, GSFP, said it was a heart-warming declaration by the Vice President to make their system digital to help address some of the Programmer’s challenges.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Siba said the digitisation of the system had been in line with Government’s digitisation plans.
He said it would provide them with real time data to enable them to sanitise the system.
The PRO said the Management of the Programme spearheaded by the National Coordinator had started piloting the digitisation of the system in some districts in all 16 regions after receiving some 300 new tablets from their partner, the World Food Programme (WFP).
He explained that since it was a new initiative, it had to be piloted to identify and address its associated challenges appropriately before rolling it out.
Mr Siba said they would work collaboratively with the Head teachers in monitoring and evaluating the caterers and their duties of providing meals to the children on school going days.
He said they would be monitoring the system and track their officers with the use of the technology.
“When an officer sits at home or anywhere other than where they were supposed to be, and fill a form, indicating their physical presence at a school, the system would expose him or her,” he said.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President, has announced Government’s plans to digitise the GSFP as part of the ongoing digitisation of the nation’s economy, during his address on the digital economy, held at the Ashesi University in the Eastern Region on Tuesday.
According to Dr Bawumia, a digital School Feeding Programme would ensure efficiency, speedily transfer of data and transparency in the Programme.
The GSFP Management and the WFP, have concluded the practical training of key stakeholders, including circuit supervisors, head teachers and the GSFP staff on the use of the tablets and technology for monitoring and evaluation.
GNA