Alhaji Hanan Abdul-Wahab, CEO of NAFCO
THE NATIONAL Food Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) has debunked some claims circulating on social media alleging that government had contracted a company named Lamens Ventures to import mackerels from China to Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country.
The post, originally made by one Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, alleged that “since the company,[Lamens Ventures] started supplying the China mackerel, many schools started doing one egg a week instead of three that was done previously”.
This resulted in the reduction of egg consumption by 70 per cent and created unemployment especially among poultry farmers, the post further alleged.
Reacting to the statement, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NAFCO, Hanan Abdul-Wahab vehemently refuted the allegations, describing them as “totally false” and should therefore be disregarded.
Setting the records straight, Mr. Abdul-Wahab, at an emergency press conference held on Monday at the NAFCO premises in Accra noted that with mackerels and eggs being part of the national approved menu for students since September 2017 when the Free SHS programme began, government decided that mackerel be supplied by NAFCO together with 17 other food items which are described as ‘non-perishable’ foods such as cocoa powder and vegetable oil.
The schools were mandated to be in charge of the purchase of the other items described as ‘perishables’ which included eggs and fresh fish.
“NAFCO therefore has no role in the purchase of eggs since the schools are enjoined to deal directly with poultry farmers and egg suppliers” he stated.
He said: “There has not been any policy that compels SHS not to buy eggs. The mackerel and eggs are not mutually exclusive. Schools can buy eggs if they so wish in addition to the mackerel supplied by NAFCO.”
According to him, “government, as a deliberate policy, decided to use the Free SHS programme to support local farmers and the poultry industry and therefore mandated that food produced in Ghana are to be sourced locally whiles all other food items are not locally produced are to be imported by NAFCO licenses suppliers at competitive prices and supplied to schools without without compromising quality and quantity.”
“It is not the case that mackerel was introduced in the national approved menu in January 2021. It has been part since September 2021. It is not true that mackerel has replaced eggs in the national approved menu thereby affecting local poultry farmers. Lamens Ventures has been on of our many licensed suppliers since the inception of the free SHS programme in September 2017 and not just one emerging as being claimed by Mr. Asare [in the Facebook post]” he stressed.
“As a responsible state agency, we will continue to avail ourselves to any individual or group desirous of appraising themselves on our mandates and operations”, he concluded.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio