Where is the one pupil, one cocoa drink you promise the children?

TV3’s broadcaster and NewDay host, Mr Johnnie Beresford Hughes has asked the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo –Addo where the one pupil, one cocoa drink he promised school children as part of the school feeding programme.

Speaking on Jonnie’s bite on TV3 NewDay on Tuesday, February 8, he said it is not right for the president to make such a promise to his grandchildren and not fulfill it.

 “This morning on behalf of all the children, I want to ask a simple question, where is the cocoa drink? Mr President! You promise your children. They saw you as their father figure; they saw you as their grandfather. May it not be said that you deceived the children sir.  Because you said that you going to give them cocoa drink and you said that going to make sure that the consumption of cocoa on the local market goes up. You said it yourself no one held a gun to your head sir,” Johnnie Hughes said on the programme monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

“Now, the children are asking where the cocoa drinks are? May be you can’t hear their voices that why am amplifying it for you.  Where is the cocoa drink? and I will ask the Agric Minister the same, because he is responsible for planting in this country so where is the cocoa drink ?. School Feeding Coordinator, where is the cocoa drink?”.

Mr Hughes noted the president made the promise at his own will hence it incumbent on him to fulfill it or apologies to the children.

“So this morning, we are asking where is the one people, one cocoa drink that we promise the children. This is it . It is a promise you made to them so Mr President, may be you have forgotten, am just reminding you that give the children their cocoa drink,” the renowned journalist reiterated.

Nana Addo promises one-pupil, one chocolate/ cocoa drink

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo on October 17, at the World Cocoa Day celebration in Kumasi announced every school going child from basic to the secondary level will soon enjoy a free chocolate every day under his administration.

According to him, the policy has already received support from industries was to boost local consumption of cocoa products.

“……..It is for this reason that the Ministry of Agriculture through COCOBOD, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection through the school feeding programme, and the Ministry of Education through the Ghana Education Service, are to ensure the sustained provision of cocoa beverages and chocolates to school children from primary school to secondary level,” President Akufo-Addo said at the programme which coincided with the 70^th anniversary celebration of the Ghana Cocoa Board.

“….. our target is to provide every Ghanaian student with a bar of chocolate or cocoa beverage each day whilst in school”.

This he said “has been given the needed impetus by some manufacturing companies who have agreed to support the programme”.

Subsequently, on August 15, 2019  at a consultative meeting, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the School Feeding Programme announced a pilot of the programme.

According to them, the project was expected to target some One (1)million pupils in public kindergartens and primary schools and was scheduled to commence on September 10, 2019.

It was also to be piloted at selected schools within districts in cocoa growing areas for a year.

However, 2years on, not much have been said about the project as far as its implementation is concerned.

Source: GhanaPlus.com