Agongo’s GHC43.1m contract, other shady deals terminated – COCOBOD

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has terminated a 43.1m Ghana cedis fertiliser contract with Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of the Zeera Group of companies, Seidu Agongo.

COCOBOD said the decision was taken because the said contract failed to go through due procedure.

The Attorney General has charged businessman, Seidu Agongo together with former CEO of COCOBOD, Dr. Stephen Opuni for causing financial loss to the state to a tune of over 200 million ghana cedis.

Dr. Opuni from January 2014, the state claims, conspired with Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Ltd to secure a 43.1m Ghana cedis fertiliser contract even though they “knew it to be false at the time of making” the contract that the company could supply the fertiliser from Germany.

The fertilisers, supposedly from Germany, were meant for the 2013/2014 farming season.

Many of such shady deals done without recourse to value for money under the previous NDC administration have been abrogated by the COCOBOD, while some others involving other companies were honoured, the Manager in Charge of the COCOBOD’s CEO office, Fiifi Boafo has said.

“It’s an input supply contract that was awarded to the company and the new management reviewed it. There were some problems with the processes leading to the awards and so management decided to abrogate some of those contracts; it’s not just limited to this particular one that is currently before court,” he told Accra-based Citi FM.