IT HAS been revealed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) minority members in parliament told blatant falsehood when they claimed that the government had dismissed 110 staff of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod).
At a press conference to present what they termed the ‘True State of the Nation address’ on Wednesday after President Akufo-Addo’s maiden address to the nation a day earlier, the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, disclosed that the Akufo-Addo-led administration had dismissed some 9,739 workers since it took office.
Out of this number, the Tamale South MP said, includes some 110 staff of Cocobod.
But in a statement issued to the media to ‘set the records straight,’ Cocobod has denied the claims by the minority MPs, saying emphatically that “No Cocobod staff has been dismissed.”
It added, “The management of Ghana Cocoa Board wishes to bring to the attention of its stakeholders, staff and in fact all Ghanaians, that Cocobod has not dismissed any staff over the past two months upon assumption of the new management and does not intend to dismiss any staff on frivolous reasons.
“It will, however, be recalled that 11 top officials of Cocobod were asked to proceed on their accumulated leave. The staff involved still remain employees of COCOBOD and cannot be said to have had their appointments terminated,” the Board explained.
“The denial by Cocobod, exposes the opposition NDC’s agenda to peddle falsehoods against the President Akufo-Addo government,” according to the general secretary of a political party who did not want to be named.
The statement, issued by the Public Affairs Department of Cocobod, posited, “It is unfortunate that such an assertion could not be verified by the minority before making the statement.
“Cocobod has long tested policies that guide the employment and dismissal of its staff but not on political motivation or colouration.”
‘Ignore Claims’
“The Board, therefore, calls on all well-meaning Ghanaians to dismiss the statement outright as it has no basis whatsoever,” it said.
It added that “The statement made by the minority in parliament therefore seeks to create fear and panic among staff and stakeholders.”
BY Melvin Tarlue