Boy, 14, Dies Over Unwholesome Meat

THE HOLY Book says, 'Respect your parents so that your days will be longer on earth.' A 14-year-old boy at Kpone-Kokompe on Saturday last week met his untimely death when he was ensnared to the local gravel pit where unwholesome poultry products from Denmark were destroyed.

Investigation revealed that the boy, Kofi Manu, lived at Kpone-Kokompe with the father who was taken ill.

Manu was instructed to go into the bush to pluck a particular leaf to be boiled for the father.

He diverted course and followed his peers to the gravel pit, where a large number of people, mainly from Kpone and Ashaiman, had converged to exhume chicken and guinea fowl wings.

After exhuming the quantity he wanted, eyewitness account had it that Manu went to a nearby pit of about 12 feet deep filled with water and in an attempt to wash himself, got drowned.

Divers were contacted to remove the body which had been deposited at the hospital for autopsy.

Further enquiries revealed that the police at Tema in collaboration with the Port Health Division of the Ministry of Health (MOH), went on an operation to retrieve from the system unwholesome poultry that found its way onto the markets.

Reports say that the Kpone township, Ashaiman, Prampram, Afienya and part of Tema were flooded with the meat.

The Prampram District Commander of Police, ASP Amoah-Ayisi, who, together with the port Health Superintendent at Tema, Mr. Saka, led the operation, was quoted as saying that anybody found with the exhumed poultry product must be arrested.

Mr. Saka called on the public to give information on the presence of the dug-out product for necessary action.

Probing deeper, it was revealed that a vessel from Denmark brought the product which was imported by Franco Port Enterprise made up of frozen poultry (chicken parts and guinea fowl).

While at sea, it was alleged that the freezing unit of the 40-foot container developed problems.

On arrival it was detected that the container was disconnected from the main electrical point at the container department.

The port health wrote to the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) for necessary advise.

The MOH letter was dated 10th May 2002. CEPS immediately wrote back for the destruction of the 2,800 cartons (10 kg) as soon as possible.

The exercise was to be carried out on Wednesday, 22nd May, but RORO Shipping could not convey the container to the Kpone site.

On Friday, a team from the National Security, Police Service, Buffalo Unit, Tema, CEPS, one each from investigation and warehousing together with personnel of the MOH, Port Health Division embarked on the journey to destroy the contents of the container at about 11:00 hours GMT.

The vehicle provided by RORO reportedly broke down twice and was finally towed by a bulldozer to the gravel pit for the destruction.

The exercise ended at about 19:00 hours GMT.

In a related development, the Pioneer Food Cannery at Tema has voluntarily reported to the Ministry of Health that there were 1,500 cartons of contaminated canned tuna at its warehouse.

Investigations revealed that laboratory test has detected the contamination.

The canned tuna scheduled for destruction has to be delayed because PFC says it is waiting for her principal to witness the process of destruction which will first be carried through punching of the cans before they are finally transported to their 'burial ground' at Kpone.

This paper going further has stumbled on information that the Port Health Division of the MOH has stopped fish discharge from a cold store belonging to Gold Fish.

Information gathered has it that MV NOSTALGIC which berthed at the Tema Port on the 23rd of this month has landed unwholesome fish.

The agent Super Maritime was notified by the Port Health and a sample provided confirmed their suspicion.

The vessel was stopped from discharging the other hatches.

Meanwhile, executives of Gold Fish say they would like the Ghana Standards Board to undertake laboratory analysis on the fish before it can accept that it is unwholesome.

Chronicle investigations uncovered that the Port Health has undertaken at least ten destruction exercises aside from what the CEPS Headquarters did carry out.

Recently, CEPS from Accra went to destroy a large consignment of paper wine at Kpone gravel pit.

On the 12th of April, 2002, MV SKIMMER landed 11,620 bags of caked and partially caked rice owned by Global Cargo and commodities Ltd., Tema.

Out of this quantity, 10,600 bags of caked bags of rice were already destroyed. It was found out that the rice got bad as a result of leakage from the vessel during the voyage.

The Tema Municipal Director of Health Services Dr. Deborah Cubagee was not available for comment but a highly placed source at Ministry of Health told Chronicle that laid-down procedures for disposal of expired items are carried out to the latter.

According to the source, poultry farmers who apply for contaminated rice for their birds have their farms inspected and items escorted there to ensure that unwholesome goods do not find their way to the market.