National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi prevailed in a challenge to prove that former president John Dramani Mahama had left behind a pension fund to cater for cocoa farmers.

He was challenged by Dennis Miracles Aboagye, a presidential staffer who refuted Sammy’s claim when the duo met on Accra-based Asempa FM to discuss issues around the recent hike in cocoa prices as announced by government.

“If Sammy Gyamfi prove where John Dramani Mahama in an Auditor-General’s report left money for cocoa pensions, I am challenging him that I will buy airtime for us to stay in this studio till he provides the evidence to that effect.

“If he doesn’t provide the year the 25 million dollars was made available, I am willing to pay for the airtime when your show is over, for us to remain here till he does so,” he stated on the September 12 edition of the Ekosii Sen programme.

The programme ended despite his offer to buy airtime.

Subsequently, Sammy Gyamfi provided the evidence in a social media post citing the 2020 Auditor-General’s report where the said amount was earmarked.

GhanaWeb checks in the said report proved that indeed the amount was available as at 2016.

Portions of the report read: 1246. Contrary to the section stated above, we noted the following;

i. The Board did not establish a contributory insurance scheme for cocoa, coffee and shea nuts farmers since the law came into force over 38 years ago.



ii. The Board of Directors did not provide any regulation as evidence to give full implementation of the Social Security Scheme for the farmers.

1247. Our further review of the Account ledgers disclosed that, the Board has set aside from profit a total of GH¢28,898,676.88 in prior periods to meet the requirement of section 26 of the PNDCL 265 however, Management has not invested the amount in any Trust. A seven (7) years analysis of the funds set aside is detailed in table 132.



COCOBOD CEO speaks to the issue:

Joseph Boahen Aidoo, COCOBOD CEO, explained in an interview on Aempa FM (September 13) that the book entry used by the Auditor-General was created in 2011 when John Mahama was a vice president.

He explained: "it is one thing to create a ledger with the view to put money in it and another thing to create a fund. If I heard Miracles very well, he meant there is no fund, and truly, there is no fund.

He continued that even with the current plan by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government to set aside some 74 million cedis into a fund, that amount is not readily available despite the announcement.

“There is no money in the cocoa farmers’ pension trust created by Mahama and the NDC for farmers’ pension. In which account did Mahama pay the seed capital of GHC28m for the farmers’ pension into? NDC should show us and when?” he quizzed.



SARA

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