The Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) on the 14TH August, 2024 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU aims to improve the implementation of the Free Senior High School Feeding Programme instituted by the Government of Ghana and ensure effective monitoring of its processes.
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr. E. O. Osae welcomed the team to the Agency, shared the mandate of the Agency and addressed the purpose of the meeting. He said the collaboration is to support each other to ensure the perfection of the system, help reduce losses and get things done in the right way to prevent being cited by the Auditor-General.
The GCX is a licensed electronic trading platform in Ghana that creates opportunities for the growth of facilitates and transparent and efficient commodity trading which connects farmers, traders, and market participants to vital information on markets and financing.
Mr. Robert Dowuona Owoo, Chief Operations Officer of the GCX, emphasized that the platform creates standardized commodities whiles bringing together buyers and sellers. He mentioned commodities traded by the exchange as basically grain (maize, rice, soyabeans, sesame seeds and cashew). The Exchange is a spot exchange currently with nine warehouses for storage and buyers can pick products purchased from any of them.
Mr. Owoo said the GCX module is unique as small holder farmers are allowed financing and access to storage. The critical role of the collaboration is to enhance the accountability framework for the Free SHS Programme and put in place control systems to prevent pilfering and ensure the right quality and quantities of foods are supplied to schools.
Dr. Oduro Osae highlighted the IAA’s commitment to support the operationalization of the MoU to ensure resources are effectively utilized for the benefit of schools nationwide. He added that a lot of sensitization and orientation would be done as pushbacks are expected.
The Agency will work closely with the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the GCX’s to coordinate delivery schedules, verify distribution processes, ensure that the quality and quantity of food items meet contract specifications and ensure Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are adhered to in the distribution of food items to schools as specified.
The partnership is expected to improve the effectiveness of the Free SHS Programme, ensuring that it meets its intended objectives through healthy monitoring and transparent feedback mechanism.
