Sitting in the heart of Down Town at Ashtown in the Manhyia South District is a three storey building whose ground floor has been rented out to a Nigerian allegedly operating a lethal business in Ghana.
With some Ghanaians as workers and led by a Nigerian as Manager, the business has been in operation for at least two years.
They are allegedly into the importation of expired soft drinks from Nigeria into Ghana and rebranding them for distribution onto the market.
The whistleblower is a linguist to the Monarch of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Kyeame Nana Kwaku Wusu who says he has had all efforts in curtailing the operations of the business sabotaged.
When he came to realise the operation of the foreigners, he said he reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who followed up to put the place under lock and key. In addition, he said a notice to stop operation was posted on their gate.
That notwithstanding, Nana Wusu told opemuo.com the company resumed work after eight weeks.
“Some Nigerians have rented this floor. What they do is they bring in expired products and repackage them. They take off the defaced labels and put on a new one. They change the expiry date and repackage them nicely then tricycles come in to take them out for distribution. I have pictorial evidence to this. Because they sell it at affordable prices their business is boosting.
“When they started, I complained to the EPA who brought in officials to close it down. About a month later, they reopened and resumed their work. They have done this for close to three years. Their goods are brought in by articulator trucks and they offload into the ground floor. After repackaging, tricycles take them out for distribution. Some of the drinks which cannot be repackaged because they are leaking are packed behind the building and it gives out a pungent smell all around this neighborhood.”
He has now joined forces with Hon James Owusu Boakye, the Sub-metro Chair of Manhyia South District and the media to bring the stealth to light and root them out of the country to safeguard the public health.
“This is hazardous. Look at the growing number of liver and kidney diseases. They all emanate from these things. I won’t sit aloof. Even if I won’t buy, I have a brother or a son who will buy and consume and that is why I don’t have to sit aloof. They use money to counter my efforts and that is why I have teamed up with Hon Owusu Boakye and we decided invite media to throw light on it so that the powers that be intervene. We do not know the authority they have to do this here and we do not know where they bring them from.”
Otumfuo Kyeame Wusu further provided opemsuo.com with pictures of the visit by the EPA as well as the interior of the warehouse which portrayed an unhygienic environment with the ground flooded by some of the spilled drinks.
The Manhyia South District Sub metro Chair for his part committed himself to fighting the operations and its leadership to the very end.
“I am sad and at the same time happy. I am sad to see how such a dangerous venture to our health is taking place and none of the residents bothered to complain to the authorities. I anticipate that at least 20 people consume this every weekend at events. I am happy because Nana has resisted this and joined force with me to root it out. I thank Nana Wusu for prompting me. I promise to fight this to the very end.”
At the visit by opemsuo.com to the premises around 8 am on Friday, September 27, 2024, workers were lingering around with the door to the ground floor locked. We were told the key to the “warehouse” was with the Manager who had been stuck in traffic.
At the entrance of the warehouse, a putrid smell could be detected all over.
On engaging one Ghanaian worker who refused to give his name, he confirmed that they repack all the spilled drinks after sorting them from the trucks that deliver them.
He said he had been working there for the past two months and fumbled in his opposition to the allegations.
He told us some drinks they distribute include “Wheat drinks, Malt and Zizo”.
When asked where the drinks come from, he responded, “I don’t know.”
“What we do is offload drinks from the truck and give to the suppliers. The rest are kept in the warehouse. I haven’t seen any machine in there that is used for the rebranding being claimed. We dump the spilled drinks over there to drain into the gutter. The drinks spill because of the pressure they are subjected to inside the truck.”
When asked about the pungent smell around, he replied, “I can’t deny.”
The said manager {who we were told had the key} arrived on a motorcycle around 10 am to find reporters from Opemsuo Radio still present.
Hon Owusu Boakye requested to tour their facility; however, he was told the key to the facility was with another brother.
“Give me some time to go and get it for you,” he added as he hopped onto his motorcycle and rode off.
Source:opemsuo.com