A Somanya Magistrate Court presided over by her ladyship Emilia Abrukwa has yesterday Tuesday, August 20, 2019 remand six persons allegedly smuggling 4,000 bags of fertilizers meant for cocoa farmers in Samreboi in the Western region to Somanya in the Eastern region.
The six suspects who appeared at the Magistrate Court on committal trial will reappear on Monday, 9 September 2019 for appropriate charges and hearing, which is likely to be referred to a district court.
Meanwhile, Mr Patrick Nartey who is the leader of the suspects, has vehemently denied on Rite Morning Ride, saying the news circulating that he has diverted fertilizer is untrue.
According to him, the fertilizers are for his cooperative farmers in the Western Region, but there are cocoa farmers in Somanya who equally need the fertilizers; precisely at Asinesi and Nkurakan, both in the Yilo Krobo Municipal in the Eastern region.
Mr. Nartey Patrick said, he has no intention of smuggling fertilizer as reported in the media by the Somanya Police Command since his registered cooperative holds contract with COCOBOD until the next two seasons.
Six persons including 65 years Mr. John Darkey have been arrested by the Police in Somanya for transporting over 4,000 bags of smuggled fertilizers meant for cocoa farmers in the Western region.
They were caught at Asomdwoe Krom, a suburb of Somanya in the Eastern region, offloading one of the trucks with registration number GM 206-17 in a private residence belonging to Mr. John Darkey.
Four of the suspects are drivers of the impounded articulated trucks carrying the consignments while the other is the receiver.
The other trucks that were yet to be offloaded at the time of the arrest have registration numbers GM 218-17, GM 219-17, GM 220-17 and GM 204-17.
The arrest was made in the residence of one John Darkey who claims he is a cocoa farmer based in the Western region, but has a cocoa farm in Asenisi, a suburb of Somanya.
Sources within the Police Command say, when the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) contacted the transport officer of Kiteko Ghana Limited, the company which trailers were transporting the fertilizer from Tema to Somanya, could not explain how the fertilizers found it way into a private home in Somanya.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive and head of Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC), Hon Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor speaking on Rite Morning Ride said his outfit will make sure the that those involve are not shielded to serve as a deterrence to those who are having such mentality of tempering with government agricultural policies.
He has also called on Ghanaians to support government agricultural policies by reporting matters of uncertainties that will hinder the progress of the programmes.
Last week, President Nana Akufo-Addo has called on the public to help the security services to flush out “greedy criminal” fertilizer smugglers to ensure farmers enjoyed the full benefit of the subsidized fertilizer programme.
“Traditional rulers and indeed all citizens should be on high alert to ensure that smuggling of inputs across our borders is stopped”, he said.
The President made the call while addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of Wechiau in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region as part of his two-day working visit to the region.
He said the government was subsidizing fertilizer by 50% and that money was the taxpayer’s money which should not be allowed to go waste through smuggling.
“We know if farmers get the subsidized fertilizer, they will improve agriculture productivity and we should not sit down and allow a few criminals to come and take our fertilizer and go and sell in Burkina Faso for their own greedy pockets”, he said.
“All of us are required to police the fertilizer and make sure that the money that is coming from the sweat of Ghanaians are used to the benefit of all Ghanaians”, he said.
Source: ritefmonline.org/ Austin Ofori Addo
