Free SHS food suppliers threaten five-day protest over unpaid debts

Food suppliers under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme have announced plans to stage a five-day peaceful demonstration in Accra to demand payment of outstanding debts for food items delivered in 2024.

The Controlled Food Suppliers Association (CFSA) said its members would picket the premises of the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) from November 16 to 20, 2026, over the delays in settling the outstanding payments.

In a formal notice to GCX management, the association said repeated efforts to secure payment for supplies made under the programme had not yielded the desired results.

The CFSA explained that its decision to embark on the protest followed what it described as an unsatisfactory response from the relevant authorities, despite several engagements and a formal demand for the settlement of the arrears.

The association said it issued a two-week ultimatum to the Ghana Commodity Exchange on October 7, 2026, requesting payment of the outstanding amounts. However, the deadline elapsed on October 21 without the debts being settled.

It said the failure to honour the demand had left its members with no option but to organise a public demonstration to press for payment.

In the notice signed by its Administrative Secretary, Cornelius Korku Logo, the association maintained that its leadership had pursued the matter in good faith and through the appropriate channels.

“The leadership of the Association has at all times acted in utmost good faith in demanding monies legitimately owed to its members,” the notice stated.

The CFSA further argued that the continued delay in settling the debts, coupled with what it described as GCX’s apparent disregard for the two-week ultimatum, had necessitated the planned action.

The demonstration is expected to take place at the Ghana Commodity Exchange premises in Accra over 5 consecutive days, with the suppliers demanding the payment of monies owed them for the 2024 food supplies.