Traders in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital have accused government of being the cause of the food crisis which has almost hit the entire country.<\/p>\n
They noted that cereals like rice, maize and millet are scarce on the market, noting that the government contributed to the deplorable situation.<\/p>\n
Most market women that spoke to City & Business Guide during a visit to the ancient Kumasi Central and the Asafo Markets slammed the government for creating the problem. The irate market women said the scarcity of cereals has suddenly led to a drastic increase in the prices of the few cereals that are available on the market.<\/p>\n
The women contended that they have evidence to substantiate the accusations they have leveled against the Mills administration. Firstly, they do not understand why the government hurriedly re-introduced the 20 percent import tariff on basic foodstuffs like rice upon assumption of office.<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government waived the 20 percent import tariffs on basic foodstuffs like rice in 2008 to help consumers. The NPP administration took that decision because it realized that almost 70 percent of the rice consumed in the country had to be imported due to shortfalls in the local rice production.<\/p>\n
The NDC government, at the time of reintroducing the 20 percent import tariffs, deceived Ghanaians that the food crisis that influenced the NPP government to reduce the import tariff was over.<\/p>\n
It again said that the move was ostensibly geared towards protecting local consumers but this assertion has so far proved to be a hoax.<\/p>\n
City & Business Guide’s checks revealed that soon after the government reintroduced the import tariff, the United Nations (UN) warned of a looming food crisis across the globe in 2011-11. Due to these facts the market women insisted that indeed the NDC government had proven beyond reasonable doubt that it doesn\u2019t care about them and their work.<\/p>\n
They noted that the government\u2019s decision has caused adverse hardship in their households as they now have to work hard to manage their homes. Most of the distressed market women said they have even withdrawn their children from schools because they cannot even provide three square meals for them, let alone pay their school fees.<\/p>\n
A certain Adwoa Mansah at the Central Market, who has been in the rice business for about three decades said, \u201cThe government has collapsed our business within the two years that it assumed political power.\u201d \u201cI hate politics but let me call a spade a spade, the NPP government was far better than this \u2018killer\u2019 government which doesn\u2019t have the ordinary Ghanaian at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that their businesses were about to collapse due to the global food crisis in 2008 \u201cbut since the NPP government cared about us it immediately scrapped 20 percent of import tariffs to save our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, this paper gathered that though a bag of rice attracts an import tariff of 37 percent, neighbouring Cote d\u2019Ivoire was charging a meager 12.5 percent on that same bag of rice imported into that country.<\/p>\n
This development has forced most people to adopt foul means by smuggling rice from Ghana\u2019s western borders in the country and the situation is said to be collapsing the business of genuine people that import rice into the country.<\/p>\n
Another trader at the Asafo Market, Eno Akua Afriyie could not understand why the ruling NDC government could not tow the line that the NPP administration took to save rice dealers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son please tell Prof. Mills to either reduce the tariffs on the
importation of rice or scrap it entirely at this moment that food crisis is imminent across the globe including Ghana,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Eno Afriyie, who has about 35 years experience in the rice business, said high import tariffs has contributed to the increase in the smuggle of rice into the country presently. She said, \u201cWe, the rice dealers, are not the only people losing in fact the government too is losing revenue in the form of taxes to develop the country as the perpetrators of the act usually evade taxes.\u201d The traders unanimously asked the government to reduce the import tariffs immediately to save their businesses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Go here to see the original:
\nTraders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Traders in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital have accused government of being the cause of the food crisis which has almost hit the entire country. They noted that cereals like rice, maize and millet are scarce on the market, noting that the government contributed to the deplorable situation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Traders in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital have accused government of being the cause of the food crisis which has almost hit the entire country. They noted that cereals like rice, maize and millet are scarce on the market, noting that the government contributed to the deplorable situation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-27T17:58:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/\"},\"wordCount\":718,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/\",\"name\":\"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-27T17:58:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Traders in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital have accused government of being the cause of the food crisis which has almost hit the entire country. They noted that cereals like rice, maize and millet are scarce on the market, noting that the government contributed to the deplorable situation","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country","datePublished":"2011-04-27T17:58:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/"},"wordCount":718,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/","name":"Traders Accuse Government of Food Crisis In The Country - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg","datePublished":"2011-04-27T17:58:02+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/traders-accuse-government-of-food-crisis-in-the-country\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/201ed65bget.media_273-150x90.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402560\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}