By William
Yaw Owusu
Tuesday March
20, 2018
Investigations conducted by the Ghana Cocoa Board
(Cocobod) indicate that the agro-chemicals supplied by Agricult Ghana Limited
and others were “untested, improperly tested and substandard.”
According to the investigative report stumbled on by
DAILY
GUIDE, the processes leading to the issuance of licence to the
companies, including Agricult Ghana Limited, for the supply of some
agro-chemicals such as fertilizers, were highly compromised because the period
of the testing was short-circuited.
There is a pending criminal prosecution against
former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, together with
Agricult Ghana Limited and its Managing Director, Seidu Agongo.
They have been charged with causing financial loss
to the state following the investment of millions of dollars into the Lithovit
Fertilizer supplied by the private company but found to be adulterated,
according to the state.
There have been reports that Agricult’s Lithovit
Fertilizer supplied to COCOBOD was approved by the Cocoa Research Institute of
Ghana (CRIG) - a subsidiary of COCOBOD - and therefore, the company did nothing
untoward.
Investigative
Committee
The investigative report shows that the COCOBOD
management set up a disciplinary committee to investigate the alleged
malpractices in the testing of some agro-chemicals at CRIG, Tafo, and the
committee in the end made damning findings against Dr Opuni and Alexander
Asante Afrifa of CRIG.
The four-member disciplinary committee chaired by Dr
Yaw Adu-Ampomah, Cocobod’s Deputy Chief Executive, Agronomy and Quality
Control, was set up on 4th October, 2017 to investigate the alleged
malpractice in the testing of some agro-chemicals at CRIG.
Among other things, the committee investigated the
process of testing and the issuance of certificates to Duapa Fertilizer,
Lithovit Fertiliser and Acati Power Insecticide; and also investigated the
conduct of staff involved in the testing and issuance of the certificates to
the companies.
Investigation
Scope
According to the report, 14 experts from CRIG and
the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) appeared before it and in the
final analysis, they found that “there were four agro-chemical products whose
testing trials were alleged to be compromised.”
It said it analysed query responses from persons
involved, testing reports, safety data sheet for Lithovit, report on samples
tested by Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), as well as report on samples tested
by Chemistry Department, University of Ghana.
According to the committee, it held sittings at
Cocoa House on 9th, 12th and 20th October,
2017 to conduct the inquiry, saying, “There were four agro-chemical products
whose testing trials were alleged to be compromised.”
The committee named the products as Duapa Fertilizer
owned by Sarago Ltd,L; Lithovit Fertiliser owned by Agricult Gh Ltd; Metacide
owned by Usico Ltd and Acati Power Insecticide owned by Alive Industries.
Lithovit
Issue
According to the committee, “The report on Lithovit
was written by Alex Asante Afrifa without any input from Jerome Dogbatse and
Dr. Alfred Arthur,” adding, “Lithovit Liquid fertilizer was not tested on cocoa
by CRIG.”
It said that the Lithovit samples submitted “were
not liquid but rather powder,” adding, “the trials that were conducted did not
go through the full cycle and that it was only on two-month old seedlings.”
The committee said, “No trials were conducted on
matured cocoa trees with Lithovit fertilizer. The recommendation to use
Lithovit on matured cocoa trees is without scientific basis.”
According to the committee, Mr Alex Afrifa grossly
misconduct himself when he issued a report claiming that field trials for
testing on Lithovit and Duapa fertilizers had been conducted when in fact, it
had not been done.
The committee said that the sample test report from
the University of Ghana, Chemistry Department, clearly indicated that the
samples of Lithovit submitted might be the fertilizer, Lithovit which was
highly diluted,” adding “Its application on cocoa farms from nursery, growth
and yield stages remains experimental because there is currently no evidence in
relation for Lithovit application on cocoa plants.”
It said that the test report from the Chemistry
Department showed that the Lithovit found in the sample examined “was very
small and might compromise the outcome of its application.”
According to the committee, “The final test report
from Ghana Standards Authority stated that the sample could not be classified
as pesticide, fungicide or fertilizer. That sample had been adulterated and did
not meet specifications of the standard and further the sample is not
recommended for its intended purpose.”
The report concluded, “The sample cannot be used as
foliar nutrient on cocoa farm nursery, growth and yield stages and is harmful
to human, animal, as well as hazardous to water.”
Opuni
Factor
The committee said that the certificate issued for
Lithovit “was not for liquid fertilizer,” adding, “The then Chief Executive,
Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, in a letter dated 25th February, 2014
requested Agricult to quote for 700,000 litres of Lithovit fertilizer (ie
liquid fertilizer) when Lithovit fertilizer had not been tested and approved.
“Agricult Company Limited submitted a quote for
Lithovit fertilizer when they knew that they had not submitted Lithovit
fertilizer for testing,” the committee held.
It also said, “Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, the former
Chief Executive, first signed a contract in the name of Cocobod for the supply
of 700,000 litres of lithovit fertilizer for the sum of $19,250,000.00 in March
2014.”
The committee recommended, “The contract for the
purchase of Lithovit liquid fertilizer should be abrogated and certificate for
Lithovit liquid fertilizer should be withdrawn,” adding that “The appointment
of Mr. Alex Asante Afrifa should be terminated for issuing the report on
Lithovit.”
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