Former President, John Dramani Mahama has outlined plans for the next government of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), emphasizing a decentralized approach to food provision for children.

Speaking during his 'Building The Ghana We Want Tour' in Kambatiak, North East Region, Mahama expressed intentions to shift responsibility for food procurement to school headmasters.

In this proposed system, Mahama explained, headmasters would directly procure food for the children instead of relying on the National Buffer Stock.

He emphasized the benefits of decentralization, highlighting that headmasters could purchase food from local farmers, including groundnuts, beans, and vegetables, to ensure children receive a nutritious diet.

Mahama suggested that feeding grants should bypass Buffer Stock and be allocated directly to secondary schools.

This approach, he argued, would empower headmasters to purchase nutritious food for students, ultimately enhancing the Free SHS program.

In essence, Mahama aims to improve the Free SHS initiative by decentralizing food procurement and empowering schools to provide healthier meals for students.

“They are not going to sit and wait for National Buffer Stock to bring the food,” he said.

He noted: “If we decentralise the procurement of food, the headmasters will be able to procure the food from the farmers in the area and they will be able to buy groundnuts, they will be able to buy beans, they will be able to buy vegetables so that the children can get a nutritious diet.

“And, so, the feeding grants should not go to Buffer Stock, And, so, we are going to make Free SHS better,” he explained.