By ‘Majirata Latela
The primary schools feeding programme is in disarray, with the likelihood of pupils receiving sub-standard meals every day, theReporter can reveal.
The feeding scheme was initially introduced at primary school learning level in 2016, when the old feeding system was phased out.
The scheme is wholly run under the auspices of the government of Lesotho which determines the type of meals to be provided to the learners for breakfast – in some schools – and lunch in all schools countrywide.
The unpalatable threat to pupils’ welfare was brought by failure to pay the two companies that supply food for the past six months.
The new school feeding model, the National Management Agent (NMA) is administered by the School Self-Reliance and Feeding Unit in the ministry of education. The new model was run in conjunction with the old one that ended in December 2021.
The two companies, Ruelle (Pty) Ltd and TJ General Dealer, both registered in Lesotho, were awarded the tender to provide food stuff to learners while at school.
According to the coordinator of the feeding scheme project, Jubilee Ntloana, the two companies have not been not paid their monthly dues Since October 2021, throwing their operations into disarray. He said part of the payments began this week with the remainder to be deposited into their accounts later.
He did not disclose how much the two companies were owed.
“The NMA model works in a way that requires the companies given the tenders to buy, transport, supply and ensure that the food is cooked and served to the pupils. Since the two companies started working, Ruelle defaulted from its commitments from the beginning and was thrown out. The company then went to court and we were slapped with an order to allow them to carry out the task.
“When the company got the job back, it started operating well and there were no complaints from the schools ‘until we as SSRFU started defaulting on paying the companies. On the other hand, even without being paid, there were no complaints of not receiving food supplies from TJ General Dealers. Currently, there are complaints of lack of supplies and shortages,” he said.
He added that SSRFU now has nothing to say even when schools keep complaining of not having enough food, because the two companies have not been paid for a whole six months. Ntlaloe says over the years, the school feeding budget has been declining.
He has no idea how the companies manage to carry on with the scheme given the rise in food and fuel prices since the pandemic began.
Unlike in the old model where each child was fed a meal cost M3.50 per serving, the new one stands at M3.54 per serving.
He added that due to the increase in both food and fuel prices that the country has experienced there is a need to increase the price for feeding each child on daily basis. He said if the price is not increased SSRFU will soon face more problems.
Commenting on the scheme, Fatere Phethoka, a teacher and administrator of the feeding programme at Maseru Lecsa Primary School, said the new feeding scheme has brought the school more problems.
He said ever since the programme was introduced in January 2022 at his school, pupils are served only peas, samp and papa.
He said a promise had been made by one of the suppliers that beans and cooking oil would be delivered but this has not come to pass, resulting in sub-standard service.
“Since there is not even enough food, we have to give the kids very small portions while waiting for the food that we are yet to receive. At least there is something for the learners to eat for lunch.
“It is very sad and heartbreaking to see a children coming from the kitchen and not happy with the food they see on their plates. Most of our kids are orphans who are being taken care of by unemployed extended family members. They depend entirely on the meals served at school.
“That is the reason why we want them to eat a balanced meal which can satisfy them so that when they get home and there is no food at least they do not suffer a lot. With the last food programme where caterers were able to buy food, cook and feed the children, our children had better meals,” he said with indignation.
On the other hand, Mazenod Primary School feeding programme administrator, Kuenene Kuenene also told the publication that they have been working harmoniously with TJ General Dealer without any glitches. But this week, the pupils were served the last batch of the supply.
He said if the food is not delivered to the school this weekend, they do not know what the children will eat on Monday when they get to school.
“The old scheme which was introduced in 2016 became problematic when caterers were not paid for their services. As a result, it was difficult for them to buy food stuffs. Those who provided catering services had to fork out money from their own pockets to buy food and pay the staff assisting them with the feeding exercise.
A catalogue of complaints bedeviled the old scheme as delays to issue payments were the order of the day.
“Now it’s a different case, TJ General Dealer brings all the food to the school and caterers come to the school to cook and feed the children. The pupils have their meals on time. The food is prepared in our presence and we oversee the whole process.
“Personally, I think this is the best way to run the schools feeding programme. I don’t even know how TJ General Dealer got the tender but it has been doing a good job unlike those who are supplied by Ruelle, who are always experiencing problems of not getting food on time,” he said.
Some of the caterers who were involved in both feeding models showed that the old scheme’s main problem was that they were never paid on time. One of the caterers who asked to stay anonymous said the only problem with the new model is that they sometimes do not get food supplies on time, which in turn makes their work very difficult.
She added that failure to pay them on time resulted in their families losing out financially despite bids to introduce the scheme to beat unemployment.
In July last year, the publication ran a story whereby 254 students at Ha Ramokotjo Primary School in Koro-Koro were forced to learn under harsh conditions as there was a shortage of food at the school.
Most of the learners would leave home to attend classes on empty stomachs as their parents are unemployed and could hardly fend for their children.
The principal of the school, ‘Maseitebatso Mofoka, said a bulk of learners depended on the food from the school feeding programme ‘but only receive one spoon of each kind of food.’
The food given to the children, she added, was supplied by the school feeding programme under the ministry of education and training.
She continued that the school was supplied with13 bags of maize meal, 25kg of peas, 100kg of samp and 50kg of beans.
“If the supplies get depleted before the stipulated duration, I have to take fork out money from my own pocket to feed the children,” she explained.
