Sanction corrupt port officials – Agric Minister

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has called for severe sanctions against Freight Forward Operators, Customs Officers as well as individuals and institutions who fail to adhere to due processes in the export of food and other items to foreign markets.

The EU imposed a ban on export of some food items to its market two years ago following what it said was failure on the part of the country to adhere to international standards and protocols regarding exports of food items to the EU market.

Ghana currently exports less than 200 metric tonnes of food items to the EU since the ban, a figure which is only 10% of previous value of 2,000 metric tonnes.

But the Minister of Food and Agriculture believes the unfortunate situation can be reversed if all stakeholders commit themselves to abide by the rules and procedures involved in the export of food items.

He cautioned that any institution that fails to rigorously adhere to rules and protocols must be severely dealt with.

He was particularly critical of some officers of the Custom Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) and Freight Forwarders, who deliberately allow items to pass through without proper certification.

Dr. Afriyie Akoto, said government was very much concerned about the development and would put in place measures to rectify the anomaly.

The technical meeting, which was attended by representatives from the National Security, Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Association of Freight Forwarders and some selected Airlines, is expected to address the various challenges and fashion out modalities that will help ensure the lifting of the ban.

MOFA is also to adopt several measures, including the empowerment of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Division (PPRSD), to make its regulatory operations more efficient.

Dr. Afriyie Akoto therefore charged participants to dispassionately discuss the issues and come out with recommendations that will help address the bottlenecks.

On the issue of the ban, it was revealed that Ghana has another chance to review the ban in September this year. – B&FT