Call For Probe Into Security Contract

Jeorge Wilson Kingson, chairman of the Media Alliance in Tobacco Control and Health, has called for a probe into circumstances that led to the suspension of a contract between the government of Ghana and the U.K. security printing firm De La Rue, reports Modern Ghana.

In September 2020, the Ghana Revenue Authority signed a five-year contract with De La Rue to create a track-and-trace excise tax stamp system to combat the growing illicit trade in cigarettes

However, the deal was suspended after it became clear that De La Rue outsourced the contract to Atos, an IT company with links to the tobacco industry.

The World Health Organization requires providers of anti-illicit trade systems to be independent of the tobacco industry, suggesting the sector is complicit in smuggling its own products.

Despite the outcry at the time about the tobacco links, the government and other agencies have gone silent on the issue. Kingson says this makes it look as if the issue has been swept under the carpet.