OLAM Ghana Limited, a licensed cocoa buying company on Tuesday presented three Yamaha Motor cycles worth GH¢20,000 to Bia District Assembly in the Western Region, to facilitate the anti-smuggling cocoa campaign in the area. Mr. Solomon Fuachie, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Juabeso, received the bikes on behalf of Bia District Assembly at Debiso and presented them to representatives of Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Police Service and Customs Excise and Prevention Service. Mr. Fuachie condemned the smuggling of the cash crop to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire, saying: “The practice is a big loss to the national economy.” He said it is criminal for anybody to export cocoa, aside of the government through Ghana Cocoa Board and called on Ghanaians to help stop the practice. The DCE expressed gratitude to OLAM, the fourth biggest licensed cocoa buying company in the country, for the gesture and asked other stakeholders to work harder to eliminate the obnoxious act. Mr. John Andre, Head of Business of OLAM Cocoa noted that in the 2009/2010 season, Ghana lost about 100,000 metric tons of cocoa through smuggling. Nana Nicholas Cobbina, a regional chief farmer in the area, appealed to Ghanaians to stop politicising every national issue, warning that “disunity will stall our progress”. “We have the power to change any government that does not perform to our satisfaction,” he explained. He urged the licensed buying agencies to collaborate with the security agencies to eliminate smuggling of cocoa. Source: GNA