Minority in Parliament has called out the government and the Ministry of Education for failing to implement the one free chocolate per student initiative promised in 2017.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced in October 2017 that his government would roll out a programme that would see every school-going child from the elementary to the secondary level enjoy free chocolate every day.
According to the President, the initiative was aimed at boosting local consumption of cocoa products, hence tasking the Ministry of Agriculture through COCOBOD, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection through the school feeding programme, and the Ministry of Education through the Ghana Education Service to ensure the sustained provision of cocoa beverages and chocolates to schoolchildren from primary school to secondary level.
However, after seven years of making the promise, the Minister responsible for Education, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, revealed on the floor of Parliament on Monday, March 4, 2024, that the initiative is yet to commence.
“Mr. Speaker, the implementation of the initiative has not started but the Ministry will continue engagement with all partners to fast-track the process to implement the initiative,” he said.
This according to the Minority can not be accepted since a loan was approved by Parliament for the initiative to kickstart.
“Mr. Speaker is the Minister aware that this House approved a loan facility of $600 million from the African Development Bank for the government to purchase cocoa and support the program”, Minority leader, Dr. Ato Forson quizzed the minister.
The Minister for Education also argued that his sector is still engaging with some cocoa processing companies to help start the initiative.
