The federal government has threatened to sack food vendors found wanting in its national home grown school feeding programme.
Focal person for the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) in Kwara State, Dr Rabiat Shehu- Jimoh said names of some food vendors found wanting in the state have been listed and submitted to Abuja for appropriate action.
“We have recoded the names of some cooks that are receiving money and not cooking. We have sent their names to Abuja and we are going to change them”, she said.
Shehu- Jimoh made the disclosure during a stakeholders consultative workshop on development of national policy for the national home grown school feeding programme organised by the federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs , Disaster Management and Social Development held in Ilorin, Kwara State on Tuesday.
Her submissions was corroborated by the state’s lead for the programme, Mrs Christy Abayomi .
“We cannot over look their ( food vendors) action because if we over look their actions we are short changing our children”, Abayomi said.
The workshop also decried the politicisation of the food vendors being engaged for the programme.
Participants advocated that, “only food vendors and local farmers resident in the host community of the schools targeted to benefit in the home grown school feeding programme should be engaged for the job”.
They also advocated that ministries ,departments and agencies (MDAs) of government relevant to the programme should capture school feeding programme in their budget lines and ensure that such funds when released are used for intended purpose.