‘Expired rice’ saga: Ministry fights Ablakwa

Story: Kwabena Rockson

The Ministry of Education has debunked claims by MP for North Tongu, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa that about 22000bags of rice supplied to Senior High Schools in the country had expired.

Mr. Ablakwa has alleged that the expired rice was repackaged and distributed to the schools and called for an enquiry into the matter.

According to him the suppliers of the rice had been fined by the FDA for repackaging the expired rice and selling it to the government for 100,000 Ghana Cedis.

But the Spokesperson of the Education Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng says the claims are unfounded as the rice was duly certified as safe and wholesome for consumption by the Food and Drugs Authority.

But Mr. Kwarteng says Lamens was only fined for not getting authorisation for the repackaging of the rice, stressing that the fine had nothing to do with the wholesomeness of the rice. He explained that the Best Before date on the rice was December 2023 but Lamens had requested the FDA for an extension of the expiry date, but before their request could be granted they went ahead to repackage the rice and that resulted in the fine from the FDA.

He emphasised that the MP’s claim that expired food was distributed was unfounded, as the FDA did not declare the rice as expired at the time of repackaging.

“The FDA did not fine Lamens for unwholesome food. The best-before date was apparently extended, but what they were fined for was the fact that they didn’t get approval for the repackaging,” he told local news channel Joy News.

His denial, however, is yet to be affirmed by the FDA which has so far remained silent on the issue.

However, Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, is questioning why the FDA did not confiscate and destroy the rice but rather allowed the company to repackage the rice and sell it to the government for distribution to Senior High Schools in the country.

A report by Starr News says the Minister speaking on Koforidua based Bryt FM had expressed concern over the issue;

“If the FDA has found that the rice has expired but was rebagged, were they supposed to seize the rice or just impose a fine on the company? The rice has expired, so if you impose a fine on them, does that make it wholesome? This means the FDA has also failed,” Osei-Mensah is reported to have said.

According to the report, the Minister announced that REGSEC, in collaboration with other stakeholders, would launch a thorough investigation into the handling of the expired rice issue. “We are going to begin our own investigations. Every quarter, we hold meetings with the Vice Chancellors, Members of CHASS, heads of TVET, and Regional Education directors to discuss security on our campuses and the welfare of students. We are not REGSEC who are sleeping on the job. So they have to give us the basis for the fine,” the report quoted him as saying.