Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum has disclosed that the “one student one free chocolate initiative’ promised by the President in the year 2017 is yet to begin.
This revelation follows a Parliamentary question posed to him by the Member of Parliament for Builsa South Clement Apaak which sought to know whether the ‘one free chocolate per student ‘ in primary and Secondary Schools in Ghana is in effect and when students in primary and secondary schools in the Builsa South Constituency will start receiving one free chocolate per day.
The minister providing answers stated emphatically that, the ‘one chocolate per student ‘ initiative sought to boost the consumption of local cocoa products,but has not started
According to Mr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the initiative was to be led by the Ministry of Agriculture through COCOBOD, with support from the ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection through the school feeding programme and the Ministry of Education through the Ghana Education Service.
He assured that, ministry will continue to engage with all partners to fast track the process to implement the initiative.
However the Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson also revealed that, a component of a loan of 600 million cedis from Africa Development Bank has been approved for the government to purchase free cocoa initiative.
He henceforth further asked the minister to answer why the money allocated for the cocoa purchases has not been used for such.
‘One School child, One Chocolate’ is a planned policy by government which forms part of overall efforts to get Ghana back to the top of the pyramid of cocoa production in the world.
Speaking in Kumasi at the 2017 World Cocoa Day Celebrations, Nana Akufo-Addo said the policy would boost the consumption of local cocoa, and has received tremendous support from local companies.
“…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, are to ensure the sustained provision of cocoa beverages and chocolates to school children from primary school to secondary level,” he said.
“…[Our] target is to provide every Ghanaian student with a bar of chocolate or cocoa beverage each day whilst in school.”
This seems like an ambitious, almost unrealistic target, but according to the President – the policy has received much “needed impetus by some manufacturing companies who have agreed to support the programme”.
By: Mary Quartey
