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Details have started emerging about the reason the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Morrison allegedly literally hounded the former Coordinator for the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah from office.

This was after she leveled allegations which included disparities in payment as against enrolment, double payments, duplicated E-Zwich numbers, payment to non-existent schools, fraudulent payment of caterers, inflation of enrolment figures, overpayment and underpayment to some caterers under the Programme against him.

Stunning revelations

The report indicated that the reason Dr Adu Nsiah did not enjoy an amicable relationship with the Minister was the fact that “the Minister felt slighted by a decision he took when the then supervising Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama directed him to effect third quarter payment against the request of the then nominated Minister, Mrs Cynthia Morrison to withhold payment.”

The Committee however indicated “we feel he acted properly and in line with his authority because Cynthia Morrison was still a nominee awaiting vetting, confirmation and swearing in by the President”, insisting “the Minister would have acted ultra vires if the Coordinator had carried out her instructions.”

“According to Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah, the Minister, then serving as a Member of Parliament, had accosted and requested an increase in her allocation of schools in her constituency –a request which he turned down, explaining that the contingencies at the time could not support her request”, it said.

Members of the Committee believe that “was the beginning of the bad blood between the Minister and the National Coordinator.”

The report also noted that in a letter dated March 15, 2019, signed by the then Acting National Coordinator, Mrs. Gertrude Quashigah who has now been confirmed, one Daniel N. Peprah, the former MIS  officer and Robert K. Addae Nketia, a former IT officer had their contracts with the GSFP terminated.

These two officials felt they had been victimized and had already initiated action to protect their rights with legal suits.

Meanwhile, the Secretary to Dr Adu Nsiah who had been working at GSFP before the beleaguered Coordinator joined the programme also had her appointment terminated in March 2019 after interdiction.

Even though the report uncovered a number of irregularities in the management of the School Feeding Programme including discrepancies in the number of schools, the number of pupils per school and in the number of caterers cooking under the Programme, the Committee noted that “these are institutional weaknesses which cannot be blamed on the suspended National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme, Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah.”

Having interviewed the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Cynthia Morrison; the interdicted National Coordinator, Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah and the Acting National Coordinator, Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, the report noted that “it became evident that the Minister cannot amicably work with Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah, the suspended National Coordinator.”

The Osafo-Maafo-led Committee therefore concluded “we consider, in the circumstances, that Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah’s interdiction was unfortunate and unfair since no evidence was presented to the Committee to justify this action.”

That was because “the Committee did not find Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah culpable of any of the allegations made against him.”

Moreover, the report, which was put together by a the three-member Committee chaired by Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, with Ambassador Yaw Odei Osei, a former Director of the Research Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Phillip Baffour Awuah as members indicated that “none of the people the Minister listed to be interviewed said anything negative about him.”

Instead, the report noted that “they said the Coordinator worked harmoniously with them.”

That, they said was because “Dr Kwame Adu Nsiah has neither misconducted himself nor fraudulently managed the Programme to call for the termination of his appointment.”

Recommendations

The Committee therefore among other things recommended that “the interdicted National Coordinator should be reinstated with all his benefits.”

In view of existing poor relations between the Coordinator and the Minister, that characterized his tenure, they advised that other options be explored, including steps to reintegrate Dr Adu Nsiah into the Trust Hospital (from where he was released to the Ghana School Feeding Programme).

The other option included a possible reassignment to another institution within the public sector or paying Dr Adu Nsiah a three-month salary in lieu of notice of the termination of his appointment as National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme in accordance with public sector conditions of employment and notice of termination.

Dr Adu Nsiah’s appointment has since been terminated and remains at home.

What is not clear is whether or not he is being considered for possible reassignment into another institution.