The Board Chairman of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Henry Nana Boakye, has rubbished the claims that some senior high school students are being fed with expired rice.
He says the Food and Drugs Authority has not come out with any information regarding any expired rice, and has entreated the public to treat the claims with the contempt it deserves.
Nana Boakye, who is also the National Organiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the allegations are mere propaganda meant to discredit the impact of the free SHS policy which has benefited some millions of children across the country.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, brought to light what he describes as expired rice which has been repackaged and distributed to some SHSs in the country.
But reacting to the issue, Nana Boakye said “they are lies. Have you heard the FDA saying we’ve given any expired rice to the children? The Minister of Education has come out to respond. These kinds of sensational politics [must stop]. They are absolute lies.”
He continued that “not even a single child has been fed with an unwholesome rice. It is never true.”
When asked if there is a need for investigation into the matter, he said “I don’t see any investigation. I was expecting the person who brought the issue out to have reported it to the police because this is a serious matter. It is election time and one of the ways to attack the integrity, how broad based the Free SHS has helped 5.7 million kids, the only way is to peddle lies to discredit it. It was just an agenda.”
Meanwhile, the NDC caucus in Parliament on Monday, November 18, 2024, called for the arrest and prosecution of the Directors of Lamens Investment Africa Limited, and as well sanction the Board and Management of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) in light of the allegations.
Ablakwa has also claimed that although the Auditor General identified Lamens Ventures in 2021 for providing substandard food products, the government has not taken any measures since.
The Ministry of Education has also come out that the rice in question were certified for distribution by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng, noted that the rice was not expired, clarifying the FDA’s penalty against Lamens was not for distributing unsafe food, but for not securing FDA approval before repackaging the rice.
