Nana Agyenim Boateng
THE COMMITTEE set up by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to investigate the government-owned Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) following a protest against the Managing Director (MD), Nana Agyenim Boateng, has cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The workers had instigated the removal of the company’s Managing Director.
Some agitated staff of the company reportedly wrote a petition to the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, alleging impropriety on the part of the MD, and calling for his removal.
The minister then set up a 3-member committee led by a former Deputy Minister and MP for New Edubiase, who also doubles as the Special Advisor to the Minister on Cocoa Affairs, George Boahen Oduro, to investigate the allegations.
Other members of the committee included the Director of Women in Agriculture (WIAD), Paulina Addy, and Head of the Internal Audit Unit of the ministry.
According to sources close to the ministry, the workers, after presenting the petition, refused at the initial stages to honour an invitation by the committee to present evidence and or to substantiate allegations of impropriety levelled against the MD.
Reports indicated that these agitated staff backed by a leading member of the company claimed they could not appear before the committee because of confidentiality, and insisted rather that the committee should deal with the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), which is their mother union.
After several persuasions, the agitated staff finally appeared before the committee and presented their grievances on May 11, 2022.
The committee, in the course of their work, launched a thorough investigation into the issues by extending invitations to several people, including the MD and the board chairman of the company, in its bid to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the allegations, as entailed in its terms of reference.
Reports however reveal that the workers could not substantiate most of the allegations they presented, whilst others only bothered on minor errors such as lack of wide consultation in some decisions, which did not constitute any form of illegality or impropriety.
Further information indicates that the committee has presented its findings to the sector minister.
The committee, according to information, has exonerated and acquitted the MD of all charges levelled against him.
Additionally, the MD, who was asked to step aside pending investigations, will soon resume his position to continue his good works and vision of transforming the once dormant Cocoa Processing Company.
Meanwhile, there are credible reports that the board will meet somewhere within the week to discuss the final report and recommendations made by the investigative committee.