COCOBOD abandons US$25 million solar torch lights deal

Multiple reports coming out of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) on the GH¢300 million procurement contract, equivalent to US$25 million, say it has collapsed.

It has also emerged that someone sneaked the transaction into the 2024 Budget Statement read by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, last week, even before the management, the board, and the workers could reach a decisive decision on the matter.

The deal was to acquire solar torch lights to be shared among cocoa farmers across the county, but following the upheaval that greeted the announcement of the deal, which was captured in the 2024 budget, its proponents, who were said to be on the board, have fled and are not ready to canvass support for the deal.

This paper is also informed that the management board, chaired by Peter McManu, has also been divided over the GH¢300 million deal, with a significant number of the board members not seeing the benefit of the contract and, as such, unwilling to approve it.

There are reports those who wanted the deal had been allegedly approached by the Strategic Security Systems Int. Ltd. (3SIL) which employs every tactic in the books to have its way.

It has been revealed the company has been reaping a fortune from COCOBOD.

The Herald is informed that, 3SIL, since 2007 has gotten a total of US$222 million contracts from COCOBOD, but workers say there is absolutely nothing to show.

It started with a 7 million dollar deal when COCOBOD was in the hands of Isaac Osei, the former NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for the Subin Constituency in the Ashanti Region. This was followed by a US$10 million job and then US$40 million from Anthony Fofie, who reluctantly caved in under severe pressure.

Under the current Akufo-Addo administration, 3SIL, has gotten two other transactions running into US$165 million; divided into US$80 million and US$85 million.

These contracts are mainly for the supply of solar street lights and solar torch lights as in the present case which has sparked anger among the workers, who are incensed at how the company buys some of these lights at US$2, but sells to COCOBOD at US$25.

Hackman Owusu Agyeman, the immediate board chairman of COCOBOD, The Herald learned, has also in the past stood against some of the outrageous contracts being given to 3SIL.

Insiders at the Board level have revealed that the few who have been pushing for the GHc300 million transaction, have also taken to their heels in shame upon realizing how senseless it was.

COCOBOD workers, have been up in arms against the GH¢300 million contract, arguing that it was a total waste of money at a time when the institution was bankrupt, and struggling to pay farmers for their beans and also paying workers’ salaries.

The workers were said to have made a strong and convincing case against the purchase, but faced some opposition from board members who had threatened to block certain packages due workers if they refused to allow the torch light deal to go through.

Last Friday, the Ranking Member of the Food and Agriculture Committee, Eric Opoku, expressed reservations over the government’s decision to allocate over 300 hundred million Ghana cedis to buy solar torch lights for farmers, but failed to disclose the name of the company.

Indeed, many feel that the GH¢300 million should rather go to farmers by way of cash, to supply beans and not solar torch lights.

Insiders have described the transaction as not just wasteful, but scandalous, as there are doubts about the execution of similar contracts awarded to the suppliers of the solar streetlight; Strategic Security Systems Int. Ltd. (3SIL), a Ghanaian-owned company located at 3 Port Novo Street, behind the Mensvic Hotel in East Legon, Accra.

The Herald’s information is that, before the Akufo-Addo government came to office, Strategic Security Systems Int. Ltd. (3SIL), during the tenure of Isaac Osei, as Chief Executive began dealing with COCOBOD and got awarded a US$7 million contract for the supply of some solar streetlights, also to be distributed and installed in Cocoa growing areas.

Upon the exit of the John Kufuor government, the company emerged again at the COCOBOD, under the management of Anthony Fofie during the John Mills administration and got some other solar street light contracts running into several millions of US dollars.

However, things got out of hand when reports emerged that the streetlights were not getting to the farmers, and the company was undersupplying.

The Herald is informed that the Opuni administration, as well as the Daniel Ohene Agyekum Board during the John Mahama administration, decided to carry out an audit into the procurements and installations of the solar streetlights, and refused to settle debts owed the company based on non-performance.

Insiders have described the transaction as not just wasteful, but scandalous, as there are doubts about the execution of similar contracts awarded to the suppliers of Solar Streetlight.

Among other things, COCOBOD also refused to award additional contracts to Strategic Security Systems Int. Ltd. (3SIL) said to be owned by one Ofori Boateng, whose dealings with both the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been described as nauseating.

The decision not to pay the company unless it performs its existing agreement with COCOBOD led to the company dashing to court for a breach of contract. The company quickly got paid by the Akufo-Addo government in 2017, while additional supply contracts were thrown at it to execute.

Legal fees alone for the lawyers of Strategic Security Systems Int. Ltd. (3SIL), according to The Herald’s information, was around US$2 million and had to be settled by COCOBOD.

There are claims that Strategic Security Systems Int. Ltd. (3SIL) since its dealings with Isaac Osei management has been awarded solar lights contracts in the region of US$100 million.

It is unclear if the contracts have gone through any competitive bidding process. But there have been claims that the company, which boasts of providing services in Transportation & Logistic Services – Freight Forwarding, had once supplied the solar streetlight to COCOBOD for US$25, although it was procuring them for a paltry US$2 per unit, thus making a whooping US$23 before taxes and freight.

In Parliament on Friday, November 17, 2023, concerns were raised during deliberations, just before the approval of a US$800 million loan agreement between COCOBOD and a consortium of banks and financial institutions.

The loan is intended to finance the procurement of cocoa beans for the upcoming 2023/2024 Crop Season.

Eric Opoku, the Asunafo South Constituency in the Brong-Ahafo Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) questioned the government’s priorities, stating, “Mr Speaker, the government has provided in the 2024 budget that they are going to use over GH¢300 million Ghana cedis to purchase torchlight. Is that a priority at this time? At the time the Government cannot even pay contractors.”

He further voiced concerns about the alleged mismanagement of COCOBOD, describing the current situation as “gasping for breath.”

Mr Opoku emphasised that were it not for the plight of cocoa farmers, the minority would not have approved the loan agreement.

Despite these concerns, Parliament has given its approval for the US$800 million loan agreement, which will be utilized to purchase approximately 47 per cent of the projected 850,000 tonnes of cocoa beans from farmers through Licensed Buying Companies for the 2023/2024 cocoa season.

Ghana’s cocoa farmers have been complaining that they are broke as the cocoa board – to which they are obliged by law to sell their produce – is unable to pay them. The Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association is beginning to complain.

The farmers say that the board – known as COCOBOD – has not treated them fairly and there is fear that they will soon be smuggling cocoa beans out of Ghana, according to a BBC report.