SCANDAL: COCOBOD allegedly buys US$3.5m untested fertiliser with forged document
It has emerged that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) under the management of its current Chief Executive, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, purchased some 100,000 bags of an untested fertiliser called “Cocoa Nti” worth US$3.5 million using a forged scientific report, which is a subject of controversy at the ongoing trial of Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo in the GHS271 million Lithovit Foliar fertiliser case.
The forged scientific report generated by Dr. Alfred Arthur, a key witness of the Attorney General in the case against Dr. Opuni, a former COCOBOD CEO, led to a probe in 2016, which led to the suspension of the soil scientist for forgery. Dr. Arthur was also banned from the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) for attempting to swindle his superior officers into certifying and purchasing an untested fertiliser.
In less than a year after his suspension and the ban imposed on him, the current management of COCOBOD used the same scientific report by Dr. Arthur on ‘Cocoa Nti’ supplied by Kumasi-based Enepa Ventures Ltd., to purchase the agrochemical at a price of US$3.5 million.
‘Cocoa Nti’ fertiliser, manufactured by Morocco-based OCP Group, has not gone through the required testing procedure at CRIG.
Dr Opuni, Mr Agongo, and Agricult Company Limited are standing trial for the same crime – allowing the purchase and use of an alleged untested agrochemical.
The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has confirmed on its website that COCOBOD, indeed, awarded the 100,000 bags of ‘Cocoa Nti’ fertiliser contract on 10 May 2018 under a sole-sourcing arrangement.
The award of the contract came up in court last Thursday during cross-examination of Dr. Arthur by Dr. Opuni’s Counsel, Mr Samuel Cudjoe, who asked Dr. Arthur whether he knew COCOBOD had ordered for the purchase of 100,000 bags of Cocoa Nti fertiliser worth $3.5 million.
Dr. Arthur said he would not know that.
Mr Cudjoe also asked Dr Arthur whether he knew the PPA had a website on which all procurement of fertilisers from COCOBOD were published, but the witness said he was not privy to that information.
Mr Cudjoe pointed out to the witness that on the PPA’s website, there were records of a contract to purchase 100, 000 bags of Cocoa Nti fertiliser through sole-sourcing, but the scientist insisted he was not privy to that information.
An investigative report dated November 21, which is before the court presided over by Justice Clemence Honyenugah, a Court of Appeal Judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge, revealed that Dr. Arthur, in 2013, travelled with the local suppliers of ‘Cocoa Nti’ granular fertiliser, Enepa Ventures Ltd., to visit the Morocco-based manufacturers of the product.
Upon his return, he quickly prepared a report on the product without conducting any scientific test on it.
Dr. Arthur’s secret trip to Morocco with the suppliers was discovered by COCOBOD, when, in 2016, he quickly submitted the forged scientific report to COCOBOD okaying ‘Cocoa Nti’ granular fertiliser. This was after Enepa Ventures had officially applied to COCOBOD for certification and authorisation of the product.
Alarmed by the record time in which the test report approving ‘Cocoa Nti’ granular fertiliser was submitted, COCOBOD instituted a probe through which it was discovered that the report was forged by Dr. Arthur after his secret trip to Morocco. He was, thus, suspended and banned from CRIG over what the then-Executive Director of CRIG, Dr. G.J. Anim-Kwapong said was an unethical behaviour of scientists at the research institution.
Upon the change of government in 2017, the new management of COCOBOD, made up of some retired officers including Dr. Franklin Manu Amoah and Dr. Yaw Adu-Ampomah, who were recalled by the Akufo-Addo government, lifted the suspension off Dr Arthur and also reversed a key recommendation that he never step foot at CRIG again as a result of the forgery.
Under cross-examination by Mr Cudjoe, the soil scientist admitted to being investigated over the forgery incident and also being driven away from CRIG after it was proven that he had travelled to the Kingdom of Morocco with the promoters of ‘Cocoa Nti’ granular fertiliser without the knowledge and authorisation of his superior officers at CRIG and COCOBOD.
Dr. Opuni’s lead counsel had earlier told the court that the reason behind COCOBOD’s instruction to CRIG was that there were complaints that even though Cocoa Nti granular fertiliser was submitted to COCOBOD in 2016, Dr. Arthur claimed he had tested and had authored a scientific report on it three years earlier.
The findings of the CRIG Disciplinary Committee, according to Mr Cudjoe, indicated that no such work had been done by CRIG as an institution, adding that Dr. Arthur forged the said scientific report.
Dr. Arthur confirmed going on suspension per the recommendations of the committee but could not speak to the content of the report claiming he had not seen it.
However, Mr Cudjoe argued that even if Dr. Arthur claimed he never had the opportunity to see the findings of the committee, at least, when he appeared before it, he was informed that he was being investigated for claiming he had tested Cocoa Nti granular fertiliser in 2013, when COCOBOD officially had an application in March 2016.
Meanwhile, the Accra High court has ordered the Executive Director of CRIG to furnish it with some six documents bordering on Dr. Arthur’s conduct, the investigation and his subsequent suspension from CRIG by 30 November 2018 to ensure a speedy trial in the Lithovit foliar fertiliser saga.
Both Dr Opuni’s lawyer and Alhaji Agongo’s lawyer, Benson Nutsukpi, demanded the documents which include:
1. A letter headed CRG 39/14Vol22/6450 dated 21st November 2016,
2. A letter with reference number DCE/AQC/FR/AMC/20 dated 26th October 2016
3. A letter with reference Number DCE/A&QC/FR/AMG/23 dated 16th November 2016
4. The query to Dr Alfred Arthur and his response to the said query in respect of Cocoa Nti fertiliser
5. A report on the CTCM testing of Cocoa Nti dated 21st November 2016 and a photocopy of the invoice payment of Cocoa Nti fertiliser dated 21st November 2016
6. The report of the committee chaired by Rev. Fr. Oddoye (PhD) into the investigation of Cocoa Nti fertiliser
Earlier during the hearing, Mr Cudjoe accused the Attorney General’s second prosecution witness of lying to the police in his statement, which led to his detention.
Below are excerpts of the cross-examination of Dr Arthur by Mr Cudjoe:
Q. I believe you are aware of procurement.
A. Yes
Q. If you know about procurement, then you are aware that COCOBOD has a procurement unit
A. Yes
Q. You are also aware that the procurement department together with the hi-tech unit determine the quantity of fertilisers to be purchased by COCOBOD
A. I would not know that
Q. I am putting it to you that it is the procurement department together with the hi-tech unit which comes out with the quantity of fertilisers to be purchased.
A. I’m not aware of this information
Q. In fact the 2 units physically have seen samples of all fertilisers they intend to purchase
A. I would not know that
Q. Because they have seen the fertilisers, they all know Lithovit is liquid hence they are preparing all the contracts for the purchase of Lithovit.
A. I am not aware
Q. I am putting it to you that at the police station on one of your interrogations, you were detained for again lying to the police
A. No. What happened was I was invited to the CID Headquarters on January 16, 2018. I was asked to be there by 10 am. When I got there, I was asked to wait to meet the director. I met her at around 3 pm.
After several hours of interrogation, they said they needed some information which I told them was in the computer at the office. This was around 5 pm. Then she said it’s late, so, they can’t come to Tafo with me, so, they have to keep me and go with me the following day. They kept me at East Legon Police station. We went to Tafo on the 17th. They took my laptop, the office desktop computer and asked me to report to the station on the 18th of January 2018.
When I got there, they took the 2 computers to the forensic and cybercrime unit. The officers there ran a scan and retrieved information related to Lithovit foliar fertiliser after which my computers were handed over to me.
This is not the first time Mr Cudjoe has sought to discredit Dr. Arthur.
Previously, he had accused the witness of lying to the court under oath.
Mr Cudjoe told the court on Thursday, 22 November 2018 that Dr. Arthur was in January this year detained by the police for lying to them in the course of giving his statement on the Lithovit foliar fertiliser.
But Dr. Arthur, in his defence, said though he was detained, it was not for peddling falsehood.
Mr Benson Nutsukpui, the Counsel for Mr Agongo, continues his cross-examination of Dr. Arthur, today, Monday, 26 November.
Source: ghanaguardian
File photo: Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo
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