The directive, issued by the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, follows the recent interception of eighteen articulated trucks declared for transit to Niger but suspected to be part of a broader transit diversion scheme.

Under the new measure, cooking oil consignments entering Ghana for onward transit to landlocked countries will no longer be permitted to pass through land border collection points. Instead, they must be processed exclusively via Ghana’s seaports, where stricter valuation systems, electronic tracking mechanisms, scanning infrastructure and layered customs controls are operational.

Authorities say the decision is intended to close loopholes within the transit regime that have exposed the state to significant revenue losses. Post-interception examinations in the recent case uncovered material discrepancies in declared unit values, tariff classifications and weights, revising the suspended revenue exposure from approximately GH¢2.6 million to over GH¢85 million.

In addition to prohibiting the land transit of cooking oil, the Minister has directed the Ghana Revenue Authority to implement enhanced monitoring and strict compliance enforcement for all transactions originating from land collection points. This will include intensified cargo tracking, reinforced escort protocols and tighter supervisory oversight.

The Minister has also ordered the immediate commencement of disciplinary proceedings against any Customs officers found culpable in similar breaches. Criminal investigations are to be extended to importers and clearing agents where evidence supports prosecution.

Officials say the measures are designed not only to protect state revenue but also to safeguard local edible oil producers from unfair competition arising from diverted transit goods.

Government has reaffirmed its resolve to apply the full rigour of the law — including confiscation and auction of impounded goods where applicable — and to ensure that Ghana’s customs regime is not exploited to undermine domestic revenue mobilisation and national development.

Prices of cooking oil have seen significant and unexpected surge with a record minimum 12% increase every three days.

The irregular and continuous surge is prompting concerns from both buyers and vendors at various market centres in the region.

The scarcity of the product, coupled with the prevailing economic difficulties, is attributable to the recent price hikes.

Fiifi, a wholesaler in Kumasi-Ashtown, explains the high exchange rates and recent shortages of the imported goods are compelling them to source the commodity locally.

“If there’s a shortage, we buy within the country and then add some extra cost to the price we pay so we can also make a profit from it,” he said.

The situation is impacting product sales as many buyers refuse to purchase at the new price.

“For example, if five people used to buy in a day, now it’s just two, and it’s really affecting the market,” Fiifi added.

Food vendors are equally struggling due to the hike in prices of oil on the market.

Hannah Addai Frimpong, a fried yam seller, expressed her frustration over how the increase in oil prices is negatively impacting her business.

“We used to buy the oil at a price of 650ghc, but from Monday, September 30th, until today, we now buy it at a price of 730ghc. Things are now unbearable for us and it’s deterring customers too,” she said.

Another trader, Attaa says they are serving consumers without breaking even.

“I buy oil for 760ghc and sell for 48ghc per bottle, making an 8ghc profit,” she stated.

However, she mentioned that the bottle to put the oil in costs 30ghc, so at the end of the day, there’s really no profit left for her,” she said.

Local oil producers are however bemoaning the low patronage of their products with a significant number of them on the brink of collapse.

The task force raided the Central Business District of Kumasi to seize vegetable cooking oil brands believed to be unlicensed and smuggled into the country.

Affected business owners are calling for stringent surveillance at the ports and harbors.

During the operation, the task force combed retail shops in the Central Business District of Kumasi for unlicensed and smuggled vegetable cooking oil products.

Armed men moved from one retail shop to another and seized products worth millions of Ghana cedis, including Global, Dyanas, Special, and Roch vegetable cooking oils.

At least four brands were confiscated by the task force, which claimed to be executing the joint mandate of the Food and Drugs Authority, Customs Division, Tree Crops Development Authority, and the National Security.

Dr. Paul Amaning is the coordinator of the task force.

“When we visited market, we realized there is a clone of one of the cooking oil brands known as Roch. It is originally produced in Malaysia. But the clone is from Indonesia which is not licensed. Oils are used for various products. So we are concerned about what the type of oil this is,” he said.

But the Ashanti Business Owners Association is distraught and unhappy with the development.

A member of the group, Osei Akoto, says at least twenty gallons of the products were seized at his shop.

“I contacted the person I imported the goods from to send me his import duties receipt which he did. But the taskforce went head to cease the oils. This is what baffles me,” he said.

The group says their confirmation from the Regional Coordinating Council could not ascertain the identity of the taskforce.

Charles Kusi Appiah-Kubi is the Executive Secretary of the Association.

“The feedback we had from the minister suggests that he has no aware of such people having such operations in the market space. These men were angered because the regional minister intervened the situation. The government must put in measures at the ports and harbours,” he said.

It is in a mall in the town of Tugela Ferry in KwaZulu-Natal, one of two provinces where days of looting have left shops, warehouses and factories bare.

A video of the Shoprite employees pouring the oil has been shared online.

The store’s manager, Mduduzo Sikhakhane, told South Africa’s Times Live that the trick had saved them from being looted.

“No-one could go to that side because they were slipping like crazy,” he said.

It was reportedly the only store in the mall that was not broken into.

Another video of people sliding while trying to walk outside the store has also been posted online, with people lauding it as a brilliant way to protect businesses.

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Shoprite’s management has said that it is working on rebuilding and restocking other stores that have been affected by the looting.

Protests, which started in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces after the jailing last week of former President Jacob Zuma, have descended into riots.

At least 72 people have died and more than 1,700 have been arrested in South Africa’s worst unrest in years.

According to KwaZulu-Natal’s premier, Sihle Zikalale, the province is looking at damages estimated to be around 3bn rand ($206m, £149m).

That’s according to scientists at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology following successful experiment on mice.

Findings of the research are published in the Global Journal BMC Nutrition.

Palm oil, recently, came under public scrutiny after Sudan IV dye was detected in samples on the market.

Now, together with groundnut and coconut oils, scientists say they have found managing power against diabetes in it.

“Science has shown intake of oils seems to have some cardiovascular effect and high fats interfere with insulin action so it is feared that if diabetics take these oils it will make treatment of diabetes more difficult.”

That is the basis for study, according to Dr. Robert Ngala, lead researcher of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Molecular Medicine Department said,

“I wanted to find whether our traditional oils have a beneficial or negative effect on diabetes treatment.

For the research, scientists obtained diabetic mice from Nougouchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

The test diets were prepared by mixing 10g vegetable oils with 90g normal commercial rodent food to obtain 10% by weight of vegetable oils.

The mice were then divided into eight groups of six animals.

A control group fed with the normal rodent diet.

Diet of Group two was modified with 10% palm oil, third with 10% groundnut oil and fourth with 10% coconut oil.

Another group treated with the food plus the anti- diabetic drug Glibenclamide. Scientists, again, created a parallel group which fed on the oils plus the drug.

After four weeks of continuous treatment, scientists found the group on normal rodent diet had high blood sugar like in humans.

The group that fed on normal diet combined with anti-diabetic drug had a low sugar level.

Significantly, the group on palm, groundnut and coconut oil diet had a drop in blood sugar level. Yet another group which fed on the oils and drug dropped in blood sugar level.

However, the combination of coconut oil and anti-diabetic drug failed to bring down glucose level as compared to those treated on the drug alone.

Dr. Ngala suspects a reaction between substances in the coconut oil and the drug. The scientists are looking forward to additional funding to replicate the study on humans.

Until then they advice diabetics to embrace traditional vegetable oils.

“We are not expecting a very big difference, though in certain cases rodent metabolism are quite different from humans,” he said.