Opuni and Agongo lawyers eager to call A-G's third witness

General News on Thursday, May 23, 2019

Source: theheraldghana.com

2019-05-23

The lawyers of Dr Stephen Opuni, former Ghana General Manager Cocoa Board and Alhaji Seidu Agongo, are eagerly awaiting the Prosecutor General's third Prosecution witness to another grueling interrogation during the criminal trial involving both.

Dr. Yaw Adu-Ampomah, retired Vice President of COCOBOD, who had just retired from office and was reappointed by the Akufo-Addo Government until recently on Monday, appeared for the second time before the court chaired by Judge Clemence Honyenuga, judge of the Court of Appeal, sits as deputy judge at a high court.

The lawyers of Dr. Opuni and Alhaji Agongo must let him know his knowledge of the procurement process, his membership in the Akufo-Addo transition team in 2017, a survey that he has presided over the activities of Dr. Opuni, his re-appointment to COCOBOD, almost four years after leaving office and many other problems.

He also responds to inconsistencies in the accounts of two other prosecution witnesses, Dr. Franklin Manu Amoah, former head of the Ghana Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG), and Dr. Alfred Arthur, a specialist in soil science at CRIG.

But, continuing his testimony on Monday, Dr. Adu-Ampomah, led by prosecutor Evelyn Keelson, told the court that Dr. Opuni, CEO of COCOBOD in 2015, had contracted Agricult Ghana Limited to contract a million liters d & # 39; fertilizer.

He mentioned that the cost of a million liters of liquid lithovit fertilizer supplied to COCOBOD amounted to $ 27.5 million.

Curiously, although Ms. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who had been involved in the trial so far, Ms. Keelson, who is his subordinate, resumed the testimony.

Dr. Adu-Ampomah, who has since been transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture as Special Advisor for Cocoa Affairs, said that the same Dr. Opuni, as CEO , had also ordered 700,000 liters of the same fertilizer. at a cost of $ 19.250 million.

The witness stated that there was no record at COCOBOD stating that such a liquid fertilizer had been tested by the CRIG.

"That's why we asked for the SDS," he said.

Adu-Ampomah, a member of the transition team chaired by him for the MSDS, explained that it was because of the report submitted by CRIG researchers that the product was described as a greyish powder.

He added that the MSDS attached to the product contained information such as the two active ingredients present in the product; 84.5% of calcium carbonate and 4.6% of magnesium carbonate.

The Prosecution asked the witness to tell the court the importance of the MS, Dr. Adu-Ampomah, stating that the MSDS was from the original manufacturer of the product and gave details of the chemical composition, the mode of application and the application. 'physical state. of the product.

The witness stated that due to the anomalies observed, the team reported the case to the Organization for Economic and Organized Crime (EOCO) and had also written to Agricult Ghana Limited for suspend the supply of the 2016 contract awarded pending new investigations.

"We also wrote query letters to scientists involved in fertilizer testing, while EOCO was conducting their investigation," he added.

He added that EOCO had contacted COCOBOD to provide them with samples of the fertilizer, which had been handed to them with an accompanying letter to be sent to the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) and to the department. of chemistry from the University of Ghana for that they test the effectiveness of it.

Dr. Adu-Ampomah, formerly COCOBOD's Deputy Director General for Agronomy and Quality Control, said the GSA report indicated that calcium carbonate is present in fertilizer. liquid was 0.0002%, compared to 84.5% of powdered fertilizer. the MSDS.

Regarding magnesium carbonate, the former executive director of CRIG said, according to the report, that it reached 0.0002%, against 4.6% in the powdery.

He stated that the report concluded that the product could not be clbadified as fertilizer and that it could not be applied to any mature cocoa to increase yield.

The report of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Ghana also concluded that the two ingredients present in the liquid fertilizer were insignificant and that it could not be applied on ripe cocoa to increase yield .

After receiving the report, in October 2017 COCOBOD set up an Investigation and Discipline Committee to investigate CRIG anomalies in agrochemical tests and make a recommendation.

Dr. Opuni and Mr. Agongo face 27 charges including fraud under false pretenses, financial losses to the state, money laundering, bribery of officials and violation of the law public markets.

They have both pleaded not guilty and are released on bail for an amount of 300 000 GHAC.

The case continues today.