Habib Iddrisu, the Second Deputy Majority Whip, has appealed to national food suppliers not to be swayed by political influences to stage protests at the National Food Buffer Stock Company regarding the debt owed to them.
During a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Iddrisu emphasized the significance of the suppliers and urged them not to allow their sentiments to be manipulated for political gain.
“I want to tell the suppliers that they are not just ordinary and they are not just poor people so they should not just allow people to play with their sentiments and politics of this,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Food and Agriculture reassured the food suppliers that 50% of the outstanding payments owed them would be disbursed by the end of Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
According to the Minister, a sum of ¢100 million, representing 50% of the total debt of ¢203 million, was already transferred to the accounts of the food suppliers on Monday, July 17, 2023. The remaining amount is expected to be credited to their accounts by Wednesday.
“Since 2017, Buffer Stock has done great business with the suppliers to the tune of ¢2.7 billion. In 2017, was ¢81.1 million, in 2018, ¢296 million, in 2019, ¢431 million, in 2020 ¢467million, 2021 ¢692 million, in 2022 ¢726 million. Buffer stock has made payments since it started in 2017, 2018,2019, 2020 and 2021 in full. Mr Speaker in 2022, of the ¢726, 617,881, ¢500 million have been paid to the suppliers. So we owe the suppliers a little more of ¢203 million.”
“Last week, we received ¢100million which is 50% of what is due to the suppliers’ and we have supplied the same to the Buffer stock. We are hoping that by midweek this week that 50% will be sent to suppliers. I have also assured you that by the 17th of August, the remaining 50% will be paid,” he stated.
The National Food Suppliers has early on in a media interaction on Monday threatened to resume their picketing on Thursday if the monies were not credited to their accounts by the government.
Meanwhile, the minority caucus has again boycotted business activities to accompany the Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson to the court thereby forcing the house to vary the order of business.
