The Partial Closure Of Cocoa Processing Company

Press Release By The Tema Regional Branch Of The United Cadres Front Of Ghana On The Partial Closure Of Cocoa Processing Company

The Tema Regional Secretariat of the United Cadres Front of Ghana (UCF-GHANA) has learnt with dismay, the partial closure of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) to enable maintenance works of two of its production lines to take place.

It is rather unfortunate that the management of CPC, for whatever reason have preferred presenting a different picture instead of what the real situation is. The UCF-GHANA, Tema Region has learnt that the company is distressfully becoming a ‘non-performing assert’ due to past mismanagement which has led to it becoming financially bankrupt.

But why should it be so after the installation of very modern production machinery a few years back? By 2002, the company, with obsolete industrial machinery, it was then well managed which led it be listed in the Ghana Stock Exchange. Thereafter, it went in for Syndicated Bank Loans which enabled it to procure the current state-of-the-art processing equipment.

The company has not been able to pay the loans which stands at about 26 million Euros. In addition some other loans were sourced from government which have equally not been paid. But what have caused the distressed condition of the company is due to the total retention of dividends that accrued from the Stock Exchange floatation by the then government of the NPP, which has starved CPC of the much needed funds to operate and hence its current predicament.

As it stands now, CPC must be considered an entity that requires serious FINANCIAL RECONSTRUCTION to enable it reactivate its production lines. In this regard, the Tema Regional branch of UCF-GHANA is appealing to COCOBOD and government to seriously consider the ABSOLVING of CPC’s debts as well financially resourcing it to enable it get a new life. This must however, be done with some strict financial management arrangement.

Government should also consider getting people with the requisite management acumen to constitute CPC’s Board of Directors whose chairman must be an 0utstanding business-minded personality to turn the MISFORTUNES of the Company to FORTUNES.

The government should not allow CPC to go the way of WAMCO Cocoa Processing Company which was declared “A NON PERFORMING ASSERT” as stated and divested but which has since been dormant, thus throwing out a number of workers.

The current closure has nothing to do with non-availability of cocoa beans in the country as alleged by the Minority. The difficult truth is that, CPC has no money to purchase the raw beans for processing.

There is, therefore, the urgent need for government to go to the rescue of CPC and safe the jobs of ordinary workers. It is the belief of UCF-GHANA in the Tema Industrial enclave that the government of the National Democratic Congress under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, will listen to our plea and intervene as early as possible to save CPC from total collapse.

Signed

Signed Comrade Edward Mba (Vice Chaiman)

Contact Comrades: Edward Mba on 0244284795 and Camillus Sakzeesi on 0266223333