The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ekow Spio-Garbrah, says the ‘drama’ in Parliament and attack on his person by some Parliamentarians last week over his temporary ban on the exportation of cashew from Ghana was totally unnecessary.
Mr. Spio-Garbrah came under heavy criticisms from the Legislators for issuing a directive to ban the exportation of raw cashew nuts in the country.
He had argued that the order was to boost the local processing sector and to create jobs for the unemployed youth; adding that Ghana will be the ultimate beneficiary of the directive.
But the directive was suspended following the massive public uproar.
The Majority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin, accused the minister of acting like ‘Don Quixote’ and said if the minister dared disobey the House, it would invoke Article 82 of the 1992 Constitution.
He said the directive had no legal basis and was arbitrary.
The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the House could summon the minister or cause a motion to be filed to ask him to withdraw the directive.
If he fails to withdraw, he said, Parliament would initiate the process to have him impeached.
All other members who contributed to the statement emphasized the illegality of the minister’s action and said it needed to be withdrawn or sanctions applied.
However responding to the issue on The Ghana Report on Viasat One Monday, Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah stated that the MPs could have invited him to Parliament for further clarification on the matter.
“If all they had to do was to have the ban suspended they could do it in so many ways; whether calling me to the floor of Parliament, sending me a letter or making a phone call, but I will not personalize it as being me,” he added.
Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah believes cashew farmers from various constituencies in the Brong Ahafo Region initiated the campaign against the ban, fronted by their MPs.
“I think Parliamentarians were instigated by the farmers and the growers who would naturally call their MPs and say that they’ve had an arrangement with the buyer. It turns out that many of the growers have either taken money from the buyers who had given them credit to expand their farms or to buy various inputs in a bid to sell their cashews to them.”
“With those arrangements being made, to disconnect from that person who was giving you credit and feed the local industry was quite a discomfort. But those are the private arrangements that some of the cashew farmers make,” he said.