THE KUAPA Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU) has been plunged into a chaotic electoral situation following disagreements over the disqualification of some of its members who filed their nominations to contest its zonal, societal and national president positions.
Aggrieved members of KKFU, who are farmers drawn from various parts of the country have protested the alleged fraudulent disqualification and called for an immediate governmental and international stakeholder intervention.
The farmers specifically called on KKFU foreign partners: TWIN and TWIN Trading Limited UK, Divine Chocolate Limited UK, Fairtrade International, Fairtrade US, Fairtrade Africa, UTZ and others to help restore unity, accountability and transparency in the organisation, and preserve its legacy.
Samuel Antwi, a prominent cocoa farmer and a member of KKFU, who spoke to the media on behalf of the farmers, said recent zonal and societal level elections of the organisation were not without intimidation by top management members.
The angry farmers accused the members of the Interim National Electoral Committee of KKFU led by Francis Osei Nsiah, an official of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, and Samuel Adimado, the company’s managing director, of conspiring to expel the aspirants in order to get the current president, Fatima Ali, elected unopposed during the Union’s national delegates’ conference scheduled for August 10, 2018.
Journalists were told how two persons namely Charles Amoako and Comfort Fosu, who contested Fatima Ali for the district level president position, were strangely disqualified thereby making her an ‘unchallenged’ winner at Akotombra, a community in the Western Region.
Now, the incumbent vice-president, Nicholas Dzogbese, Paul Celestine Kofi Buah in the Twifo Nyinase Society in the Central Region, Moses Arhin of Esaam in the Western Region, Samuel Antwi of Offinso in the Ashanti Region and others, who wished to vie for the national president position, have been disqualified without any tangible reasons.
“We know and strongly believe, as we have evidence to this fact, that they are manipulating the electoral process in favour of Madam Fatima Ali to cover up misappropriation and embezzlement of funds that have occurred under the stewardship of Madam Fatima Ali” an irate farmer claimed.
He said the funds believed to be millions of Ghana cedis which are meant for all their members are not properly accounted for and pointed out that the current KKFU management is afraid to subject itself to scrutiny if new leaders are elected.
Samuel Antwi said as a result of non-compliance to the democratic processes in the conduct of the upcoming elections, KKFU has been suspended by FLO Cert (the certifier of Fairtrade International in a recent audit conducted by the certifier).
Flanked by other farmers, Antwi called on all members of Kuapa Kokoo to rise up for their rights and to protect the dignity of the organisation as it was handed over by its founding fathers, urging them to preserve its democratic principles and culture.
FROM James Quansah, Kumasi