The Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LCBAG) has condemned the nefarious activities of cocoa smugglers through the western and eastern borders of Ghana stressing that the act impacted
negatively on the national economy.
Nana Adade Boamah, President of LCBAG, said at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday that the act of smuggling threatened the existence of
licensed cocoa buying companies in particular and the cocoa industry in general.
Nana Boamah's statement comes in the wake of the recent footage by Ace investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas of the Crusading Guide Newspaper, who went undercover with the name Kwame Nkua Afukaa of Sefwi Anyinabrim, to capture activities of some security agencies who aided people to smuggle cocoa outside the country.
He commended Anas and his team for their contributions towards uncovering the corruption among the security agents and their collaborators
in the smuggling 'business' adding; "for us, it is a fight to defeat cocoa smugglers so that our business can thrive and contribute positively to
national development."
"Our high investments in weighing scales, tarpaulins, vehicles, depots and personnel stand the risk of withering away if we stand aloof whilst the smugglers have a field day. Our interest is directly linked to the interest
of cocoa farmers, the cocoa haulers, COCOBOD, and the government," he said.
Nana Boamah said the conference provided the platform for LCBAG to both condemn the act of smuggling and to commend the media for its contribution in the fight against corruption and cocoa smuggling.
"We use this occasion to renew our commitment and preparedness to join hands with all stakeholders to put in place measures and mechanisms to find lasting solutions to the menace of cocoa smuggling," he said.
He said before the footage was released the Association had put in place its own measures to clamp down on cocoa smuggling and to deter
perpetrators but stressed that the Anas' investigations had served as a "good awakening from the slumber".
Mr Yaw Kyei, Managing Director of Transroyal Ghana Limited, one of the licensed buying companies whose agent was named in the footage, said he had called for the interdiction of the agent and set up a team to investigate the extent of the company's involvement in the cocoa smuggling.
He expressed worry that though the management of the company had taken efforts to organize series of training and sensitization workshops on the dangers of cocoa smuggling, some workers were still involved in the act.
He told the Ghana News Agency, at the end of the conference, that the last training the company organised for the staff was in November 2009.
Mr Kyei said the company had 1,500 workers with 250 being full-time staff with the rest paid on commission basis and that it was difficult to
monitor their activities from where they operated in the country.