Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, head of Inter-Party and CSO Relations, has revealed that there is no policy document for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative, raising serious concerns about its legitimacy and implementation.
He made this revelation in an interview with Oheneba Boamah Bennie on Accra-based radio XYZ, asserting that the initiative was poorly conceived in its foundational planning by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“There is no policy document for Planting for Food and Jobs policy; it was not a well-thought-through policy by the NPP.”
Dr. Otokunor underscored the efforts he made in obtaining clarity from the Ministry, saying, “I have personally gone to that ministry [Ministry of Food and Agriculture] to look for the policy document several times, and there is no clear policy on Planting for Food and Jobs”.
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His remarks suggest a troubling lack of transparency and organisation within the ministry.
He further detailed that when the NPP took power, the program was included in the 2017 budget based on a $150 million grant from the Canadian Government.
This financial arrangement was formalised in an agreement that the then Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta signed on behalf of the country while the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Heather Anne Cameron, signed on behalf of the Canadian government.
