The government has welcomed the offer of free meals at selected public schools across Botswana by Choppies and dismissed concerns that grocery chain store giant may be ingratiating itself with authorities in order to attract favour in tenders
GAZETTE REPORTER
The government has denied that Choppies’ offer of free meals at public schools could influence future tendering processes in schools.
This follows a recent announcement by the Minister of Basic Education and Child Welfare, Nono Kgafela-Mokoka, that Choppies had proposed to provide free meals at selected public schools across Botswana.
Minister Kgafela-Mokoka characterised the offer as part of Choppies’ corporate social responsibility initiative and denied that there may be strings attached.
Nothing to offer Choppies
She emphasised that the government has nothing to offer Choppies in return and described the offer of the chain store company as a positive development.
“It is a welcome development that Choppies has come on board to assist the government,” she said. “We have realised that lack of food in schools has contributed to poor results.”
The minister expressed a desire for the initiative to begin in remote areas because the schools there are a more urgent need for such intervention.
Boitumelo Foundation
Kgafela-Mokoka disclosed that Choppies will soon engage with her ministry to finalise details of the partnership and sign a Memorandum of Understanding.
During its discussions with the ministry, Choppies also suggested leveraging its charitable Boitumelo Foundation, which focuses on improving education and health, including medical aid in schools and supporting general student well-being.
The minister highlighted food shortages in regions like Boteti and Kweneng where the ministry has had to allocate funds to support schools.
The CEO of the Choppies Group, Ramachandran Ottapatu, has confirmed that the company is working on a school feeding programme.
Proper nutrition
“We are still working on a proposal,” he said. “Once completed and submitted, we will share our position.”
The government’s school feeding programme, which originated as a part of drought relief efforts, aims to ensure that children receive proper nutrition and to improve school attendance.
Managed by the Ministry of Local Government, the programme has expanded to include home-grown produce and introduced breakfast for primary school learners in 2019.
Altogether 758 schools currently provide two meals a day to an estimated 370,000 learners, with a third meal provided in Rural Administration Areas.