“What saddens me is the issue of feeding grants for our schools. Today feeding grants for the Northern Schools have been in arrears for over 14 months. The Children are being fed on Maggot infested food, how can we sit and watch this situation continue? We have a so called Northern President who is in charge of the whole Ghana but Northern students in schools are suffering and starving”.
These were the words of Dr. MahamuduBawumia, Running Mate to Nana Akufo-Addo in ZuarunguMoshie in the Bolgatanga East Constituency of the Upper East Region on Wednesday.
Dr. Bawumia, who before visiting the Bolgatanga East Constituency had toured the Talensi Constituency earlier in the day, criticised President John Mahama for merely paying lip service to the plight of Northerners and Ghanaians in general and for virtually shirking responsibility on key issues that affect the livelihoods of the people.
Touching on the regrettable plight of Northern Senior High School Students currently, Dr Bawumia said that the situation was one that particularly made him sad and wondered how someone who doesn’t fail to remind people of his Northern Roots, can orchestrate and preside over such an unfortunate situation; a situation that has lasted for over three terms.
“Many Headmasters are dodging suppliers because they cannot pay the feeding grants and we have a Northern President who says we should vote for him but who presides over this sad situation”, Dr.Bawumia added.
The current Mahama government has refused to pay Feeding Grants to Schools in the three Regions of the North since the first term of last Academic year despite several appeals from School Authorities, Parents, Students and the populace in the North including Chiefs. The situation has meant that students are fed on small rations of food which are mostly of poor quality as suppliers have refused to supply Schools until the debts that have been accumulated are cleared.
The current crisis as a result of the government’s refusal to fulfil its responsibility has gotten so bad that many suppliers are now threatening to drag Authorities in various Northern Schools to court to retrieve their monies, while some Authorities have also been left with no choice but to find food which is not in the best conditions for their students, rather than watch them starve.
In addition, the government has refused to pay subsidies to the schools for two terms and this has worsened an already bad situation.
Touching on other issues which had worked against the progress and development of the North in the last 8 years, Dr.Bawumia mentioned the infamous SADA loot, where officials of the John Mahama government basically pilfered the resources meant for development in the North through various shady schemes.
“Aside this situation, we have a President who presides over SADA, where our monies supposed to be used to develop the North was stolen”
“Should we vote for John Mahama again?” he asked; a question which received a thunderous ‘No’ from the residents gathered.
Dr.Bawumia urged the people of the North to reject the NDC and its Presidential Candidate as their record over the last 8 years was one of corruption, incompetence and suffering.
“When John Mahama comes and he will be here soon. When he comes and says we should vote for him because he is our brother, we should say No. We are not going to vote for him because he is piling suffering on our people. He is bringing disgrace to the people of the North. We were never known for corruption and he is destroying our brand”, he stated to loud cheers.
Dr.Bawumia also visited the Bolgatanga Central Constituency on Wednesday.
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