Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare has strongly rejected allegations by North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, regarding the distribution of expired and repackaged rice to Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country, calling the claims “false propaganda.”
Ablakwa has accused Lamens Investments Africa Limited and the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NFBS) of conspiring to distribute 22,000 bags of expired rice to schools, which he claims was repackaged and misrepresented as safe for consumption.
The North Tongu MP also pointed out that Lamens Investments had been flagged by the Auditor-General in 2021 for supplying unwholesome food items to schools, yet no action had been taken by the government to address the issue.
In a statement to the press on Monday, November 18, Ablakwa, speaking on behalf of the Minority in Parliament, demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the directors of Lamens Investments. He also called for sanctions against the NFBS leadership.
However, the Chief of Staff dismissed these allegations, describing them as politically motivated and designed to discredit the government.
In her address, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare emphasized that the government’s education initiatives, including the Free SHS program, have led to substantial improvements in secondary education quality despite increased enrollment.
She pointed to the West African Examinations results as evidence that quality was not sacrificed for quantity, asserting that the government has continued to prioritize educational reforms under President Akufo-Addo’s leadership.
‘’Since the introduction of the Free SHS program in 2017, the government has made significant investments in education, including infrastructure expansion, the restoration of teacher training allowances, and the passage of the Pre-Tertiary Education Act’’.
