Dozens of pupils at Tokuroano Primary ‘A’ in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region were left without meals on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, following a dispute over the award of a school feeding contract.
The programme, which is designed to provide nutritious meals to schoolchildren and improve enrolment and retention, came to a halt when the local branch executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) prevented the contracted cook from serving food.
The chief cook, Madam Hawa Yakubu, told the Ghana News Agency she was ordered by local party executives to take the prepared meals back home, denying the children their daily ration.
The standoff stems from discontent over the decision to award the contract to Mr. Mubarak Diplomatic, the NDC’s Regional Communication Officer based in the Nkwanta South Municipality, instead of applicants from Tokuroano itself. Local organisers argue that community members who campaigned for the party during the 2024 elections had been unfairly sidelined.
Mr. Samuel Kofi Kunney, Tokuroano branch organiser, warned that government officials should stay away from the area if their concerns over contract allocation are not addressed.
While the political tension continues, children remain the most affected, with parents expressing worry that hunger could affect attendance and academic performance.
The school feeding programme, introduced to improve nutrition and promote domestic food production, has been widely acknowledged as a lifeline for children in rural farming communities like Tokuroano.
Stakeholders have since called for swift intervention to resolve the dispute and restore meals for the pupils, warning that the disruption undermines both educational and nutritional goals.
Attempts to contact Mr. Diplomatic for his response have so far been unsuccessful.
