Rice importers financed NPP campaign – Lecturer claims

Dr Michael Ayamga-Adongo, a Development Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS) has alleged that the Akufo-Addo administration cannot cut rice importation because they financed their campaign in 2016.

The outspoken academic posited that the government is hiding behind the “eat Ghana rice campaign” because it is unable to cut rice importation to create demand for local rice due to its conflicted position as beneficiaries of the importers’ support.

“You can’t eat your cake and have it. You took rice and poultry importers money to run your campaign. We all know you are too afraid to cut imports of rice so you hide behind the eat Ghana rice campaign. Cut the imports and create a market,” he wrote in a Facebook post sighted by MyNewsGh.com.

Dr Ayamga-Adongo has also alleged that the campaign will ultimately benefit some rice importers who are repackaging imported rice as local rice so as to hoodwink consumers, concluding that the campaign is a deceptive campaign that in the end does not really promote consumption of local rice.

“You know very well some of your rice-importer financiers are re-bagging the imported rice as local so this your eat Ghana rice is a facade and plays to the benefit of your cronies in the rice import business. The Ghanaian should not be taken for granted,” he averred.

The campaign to eat Ghana rice has intensified following a rice glut in parts of the country due to bumper harvests.