CPP WRITES TO CHIEFS AND MPs ON PBB The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has written to the Chiefs of Brong Ahafo (BA) to thank them for their resistance to the Plant Breeders Bill (PBB) and their opposition to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) generally. In a letter addressed to the BA House of Chiefs the CPP expressed “great pleasure and deep admiration” for Nananom. “We congratulate Nananom for the far-reaching decisions you took at your meeting held last July 2014”, the party wrote. The CPP assured Nananom and the Farmers of Brong Ahafo that they are not alone in the fight against the passage of the “abominable law”. The Party expressed support for the position of BA farmers that the enduring problems facing farmers of the country emanates from Government’s inability over the years to provide vital inputs such as financial credits to support them. That Poor road and non-existent storage infrastructure reduce farmers’ access to ready markets. Furthermore, a lack of food preservation and processing techniques, limited irrigation facilities all lead to huge post-harvest losses. That these dysfunctions in the agricultural sector collectively reduce the nation’s aspiration towards attainment of food security and food sovereignty. In a separate and similarly unprecedented move the Party Chairman Hon Samia Yaba Nkrumah has addressed a letter to all 275 members of Ghana’s Parliament in which she pleads with them to reject the PBB when it is next presented to them. ‘We are writing to express our concerns to you as an elected representative of the citizens of Ghana, about the Plant Breeders Bill (PBB) that has now been deferred by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Doe Adjaho” she wrote. She wrote further that “The content and ultimate intention of the PBB, which is sponsored by international agribusiness companies, does not take into consideration the unique context of farming in Ghana. Furthermore, Clause 23 of the PBB totally cedes the sovereignty of Ghana, and her rich heritage of organic flora and fauna, to the whims and caprices of these multinational companies. Indeed, Clause 23 put the interests of the latter over and above the constitution and laws of Ghana, thereby rendering our Parliament and Judiciary redundant” The CPP Chair noted that her Party and fifty one civil society organizations representing millions of Ghanaians have sent their petitions to the Speaker and are counting on the MPs to ensure that their protests against GMOs and the PBB is heard. The appeal to MPs enclosed for their urgent perusal, a copy of a letter signed by 55 million Americans, delivered to the Prime Minister and people of the UK last week. Entitled, ‘Letter from America’, which detailed the appalling socio-economic and environmental consequences of incorporating Genetically Modified seeds and livestock into their food chain, and awarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of the DNA of seeds and livestock, the ultimate aim of the PBB, to seed companies. Hon Nkrumah’s concluding appeal to MPs was - “All Ghanaians, born and unborn, are counting on you” Nii Armah Akomfrah CPP Director of Communication convention peoplesparty.org
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 07:41:27 +0000
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