A parliamentary oversight investigation led by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has exposed a scheme in which Lamens Investments Africa and the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) allegedly repackaged over 15,000 50kg bags of expired and contaminated rice.
This rice, originally packaged with clear expiry dates, was reportedly rebranded in bags lacking expiration information and distributed to Senior High Schools (SHSs) across Ghana, raising serious concerns about the health risks posed to students. According to reports, Bolgatanga Girls’ Senior High School in the Upper East Region and Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School in Accra, which serves as a central distribution point for SHSs in Greater Accra, received the repackaged rice.
Mr. Ablakwa revealed that, despite warnings from school administrators, the rice was still delivered to the institutions. In a Facebook post, he shared that the Ashanti Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) was alerted to the unauthorized rebranding on December 20, 2023, after receiving a tip from a concerned Ghanaian citizen.
“This unauthorized re-packaging was shockingly being carried out at the storage facility of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) in the Ashanti Region. When FDA officials acted on the alert, it emerged that a similar alert had been received by the Ashanti Regional Police Command, and the command had promptly moved in to close the storage facility. The FDA and the Ashanti Regional Police Command then commenced investigations into the matter,” he stated.
An intercepted FDA report, signed by its Ashanti Regional Head John Laryea Odai-Tettey, disclosed that Lamens Investments Africa and NAFCO, upon realizing that the best-before date for Moshosho Rice was approaching in December 2023, started repackaging the rice from its original yellow 50kg bags into new white bags labeled “CEDAO ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserve.”
The new packaging omitted expiration dates, contravening the General Labelling Regulation, LI 1541, as well as obscuring the country of origin. Originally from India, the rice was deceptively labeled as a Ghanaian product, misleading consumers to believe it was a locally-sourced item.
“This illegal re-packaging was carried out without FDA’s approval as required by law. The National Food Buffer Stock storage facility had neither been licensed for storage or re-packaging contrary to the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851). It was determined that the NAFCO storage facility had no qualified or trained person to supervise its activities,” the report revealed.
Mr. Ablakwa also detailed that Lamens Investments Africa Ltd admitted guilt and initially agreed to an administrative fine of GHS100,000. The FDA received GHS50,000 as a 50% deposit on January 5, 2024. However, an intercepted memo from the Ashanti Regional FDA dated December 29, 2023, indicated that the FDA’s original intention was to impose a fine of GHS150,000, dispose of the rice, and halt all repackaging activities immediately. Despite these efforts, intense political pressure allegedly forced a reduction of the fine and halted the FDA’s original course of action. Mr. Ablakwa claimed that Lamens Investments has since refused to pay the remaining fine.
In a separate intercepted letter dated December 21, 2023, Superintendent J.J. Boye from the Ashanti Regional Police Command wrote to the FDA’s Regional Director to request assistance with examining the repackaged rice. Mr. Ablakwa shared that an “order from above” arrived before FDA test results were received, demanding that the repackaged rice be distributed to schools. Consequently, the contaminated rice reached schools on February 2, 2024, a mere four days prior to receiving official clearance.
“Shockingly, even before the test results would arrive from FDA-Accra, a reckless order came from above that the re-packaged rice be distributed to Senior High Schools,” Mr. Ablakwa remarked, adding, “The expired and contaminated re-packaged bags of rice were already distributed to schools on the 2nd of February, 2024 — some four days prior.”
Mr. Ablakwa accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of shielding those involved from accountability. He claimed that Alhaji Hanan Abdul-Wahab, NAFCO’s CEO and NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the Pusiga Constituency, along with NAFCO’s Board Chairman Henry Nana Boakye, who serves as NPP’s National Organizer, received “full protection” amid these allegations. Additionally, he alleged that Lamens Investments Africa Ltd, a company incorporated in 2020 without a proven track record, was single-sourced for the contract.
The legislator expressed deep concerns about the health impacts on students, citing risks of food poisoning, exposure to carcinogens, and microbial infections. “Considering that the Moshosho rice expired in December 2023 and that distribution to schools was carried out in February 2024, coupled with the fact that these food items are stored over several months before they are completely consumed in dining halls, we can only imagine the levels of contamination by the time the students consumed the entire quantities,” he added.
He further emphasized that per Act 851, General Labelling Regulation, LI 1541, individuals involved in mislabeling or misbranding food products violate Ghana’s Public Health Act and should face prosecution. Mr. Ablakwa demanded the immediate arrest of Lamens Investments Africa Ltd’s directors and urged sanctions against NAFCO’s management for allowing unregistered storage facilities to operate.
“The Ministry of Education must be probed for their conduct in this despicable affair — not only for supervising this rot which severely endangers the health of SHS students but also their reported role as alleged by FDA officials that they piled undue pressure to get the FDA to back off,” he continued.
The legislator assured his resolve to pursue justice, stating, “We shall not rest until justice is done in this matter.” As of now, NAFCO and Lamens Investments Africa are yet to respond to the allegations raised by Mr. Ablakwa.
