Shani Alhassan Shaibu
THE NORTHERN Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has bemoaned the increasing rate at which food crops in the region are being smuggled out of the country through the northern borders.
According to the minister, food crops pass through the northern borders such as Tatale, Paga, Aflao, Elubo among others.
“It means the food security we are hoping to achieve will not be realised if we allow this act to continue,” he said.
The minister disclosed that as Chairman of the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC), he has directed the security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals or organisations caught in this unscrupulous act.
He made this known at the opening of Intercontinental Group Ghana Limited (ICGGL), new an ultramodern office and warehouse complex in Tamale in the Northern Region.
Mr. Shaibu called partners in development and the agriculture sector such as the Intercontinental Group Ghana Limited to help government in providing information to security agencies to curb the act.
The General Manager of the Intercontinental Group Ghana Limited, Mr. Mohammed Issifu, noted that fertiliser in Ghana is subsidised, reason why neighbouring countries troop to Ghana to demand them in large quantities.
He, however, assured that the Intercontinental Group Ghana Limited would collaborate with the security agencies to effectively fight the fertiliser and food produce smuggling menace in the northern part of the country.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale