Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa claims that about 22,000 bags of rice were dispatched to various Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country had expired and were repackaged.
In an interview on Joy FM, Mr. Ablakwa who doubles as the Chair of the Assurance Committee of Parliament said the ploy to distribute the consignment was deliberate on the part of the perpetrators.
“The National Food Buffer Stock Company clearly conspired with a company known as Lamens Investments Africa Limited. They used the Buffer Stock storage facility in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region, to repackage expired rice. This company brought in rice from India, the brand ‘Moshosho rice’, which expired in December 2023. Upon realising the rice had expired, they conspired with the Buffer Stock company to use their premises for re-bagging,” he alleged.
He noted that the rice was repackaged into locally made sacks which bore ‘ECOWAS’ and ‘Made in Ghana rice’,however, there no expiry dates written on them.
He added that the rice was distributed to the various schools before receiving crucial clearance from the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
“Can you believe that, before the test results arrived from the FDA in Accra on 6th February, an instruction came from above that the expired, contaminated rice should be distributed to the schools?” he questioned rhetorically. “So, as we speak, all 22,000 bags of rice that the police sought to confiscate have been sent to the schools,”
Mr. Ablakwa called for a thorough investigation into the issue.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Mitchell Asare Amoamah
