'Come to my office for 260-page cocoa roads audit report' – COCOBOD CEO to Mahama

The CEO of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has said anyone needing a copy of the 260-page cocoa roads audit report should come to his office for it.

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Mahama, recently demanded that the government publish the audit report.

Addressing the chiefs and people at Prestea-Nkwanta in the Amenfi West District of the Western Region as part of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia’s two-day tour of the area, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo said: “Nana, the audit report is ready and available at the COCOBOD head office”.

“Anyone who is interested can get a copy”, he added.

The COCOBOD CEO, however, noted that: “It is surprising that a government that left over GHS800 million is now asking for an audit report”.

He noted that his office has nothing to hide.

Mr Mahama, about a week ago, challenged the Akufo-Addo government to make public the findings of its audit report into the award of contracts under the cocoa roads project.

Mr Mahama, on day one of his tour of the Western-North Region on Sunday, 4 October 2020, said the Akufo-Addo administration is only seeking to score cheap political points by hurriedly deploying contractors to resume work on abandoned road projects initiated during his tenure.

He, thus, dared the government to disclose any untoward transaction discovered in the audit of contracts awarded for cocoa road projects.

Addressing the chiefs and people of Bopa, Mr Mahama said: “They’ve abandoned the road projects for the past four years.

"Because they realised we are close to elections, they have started work on the roads again.

"I want to know where the audit report is.

"I am here at Bopa asking the NPP government to publish the audit reports on cocoa roads for everyone to see", the former president dared the incumbent administration.

He said: "The laws of Ghana indicate that if a government starts a project and loses the elections, it is incumbent on the next government to continue with the projects".

"But this is not what we are seeing.

"When the NDC was voted out of power, there were a lot of contractors working on projects, but when this government took over, they halted all of them, saying it was auditing them.

"It has been four years now and I believe that even if it was the Bible we were reading, we would have covered from Genesis to Revelations by now", he added.