The National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus in Parliament, led by Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is demanding urgent medical screenings for students who consumed expired rice distributed to senior high schools (SHSs) across Ghana.
The call follows a growing scandal involving the Ministry of Education, which allegedly allowed the distribution of expired Moshoaho rice, contaminated with insects and high levels of acidity, to schools across the country.
Ablakwa, who has been outspoken on the issue, argued that the government has failed to take swift action, putting students’ health at risk.
“In a functioning country, health authorities would have launched a major screening exercise as soon as this scandal broke,” he said. “But instead, we are seeing a disturbing silence from those responsible.”
The controversy centers around Lamens Investments Africa Ltd., a Ghanaian-owned company that imported 22,000 bags of rice in 2022.
According to reports, the company repackaged the expired rice and distributed it to several schools in February 2024, despite the rice having expired months earlier.
Ablakwa emphasized that the rice was not only expired, but also contaminated, raising serious concerns about potential health risks, including long-term conditions like cancer.
Ablakwa also criticized the Ministry of Education for defending Lamens Investments, even after the company admitted to distributing the expired rice.
He accused the Ministry of trying to downplay the severity of the issue and called on the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ministry of Health to immediately intervene.
“There must be a national medical screening exercise for all students who consumed this rice, especially those who ate it from February onwards,” he said.
Ablakwa expressed frustration that, despite the alarming public health concerns, the authorities have yet to take meaningful action.
“This is a serious public health matter, and the silence from the Ministry of Education, as well as the lack of response from health officials, is deeply troubling,” he added.
