.... WHY ARMAJARO BAN WAS LIFTED

The Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Jake Obestebi-Lamptey, has, in a press release on Sunday, called on the directors of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) to explain to Ghanaians what influenced their decision to unban a cocoa buying company that was recently banned from trading for smuggling cocoa to la Cote d’Ivoire.

It was reported in London’s The Sunday Times, a week ago, that Andrew Mitchell, Britain’s international development secretary,

intervened through his country’s Foreign Office to have the ban over-turned after he was asked for help by Anthony Ward, whose cocoa trading firm, Armajaro Holdings, lost its trading license in the Western Region following allegations that its local subsidiary, Armajaro Ghana Ltd, was among those caught smuggling cocoa out of Ghana.

“The report in the Sunday Times newspaper stated that our Vice President, John Dramani Mahama was lobbied to have the ban removed,” said Mr Obestebi-Lamptey, in reference to the UK newspaper quoting a memo from that country’s foreign office that Ghana’s Vice President dined with Henry Bellingham, a foreign office minister on Africa on July 7, six days after Ward’s letter to Mitchell, and weeks before the ban was lifted.

A UK Foreign Ministry memo, following the meeting with Bellingham, reportedly stated that “The [Vice President of Ghana] has undertook to look in to it immediately on his return,” to Ghana.

However, in an interview with Radio Ghana on Thursday, 4th November 2010, Vice President John Mahama made a categorical denial against the allegation that he personally "intervened" to get the Armajaro ban lifted.

The Vice President said he did nothing of the sort and that he only advised the British politician to get the British company operating in Ghana to petition the appropriate authorities in Ghana, Cocobod.

“In view of the importance of this issue to our sovereignty, we call upon the Vice President to scotch the rumours and state categorically that neither he nor anyone else from his office at the Presidency made any contact with anybody at Cocobod to influence the board in favour of Armajaro,” said Jake.

However, based on the Vice President’s personal denial, the NPP Chairman believes Cocobod has some explaining to do and has urged Parliament to consider calling the Chief Executive Officer to the House to help get to the bottom of it.

“We cannot be seen, as a serious developing nation which relies so heavily on receipts from cocoa exports, to be rewarding a company that is alleged to have smuggled cocoa to our biggest competitor in the trade, la Cote d’Ivoire. Smuggling of cocoa, that illegal venture, costs our Consolidated Fund dearly. It means less money to fight poverty and develop our nation. It is criminal and shameful,” he stressed.

He is calling on Cocobod to give Ghanaians a full disclosure on this matter in the name of democratic accountability and transparency. He is asking for answers as to why Armajaro has, for instance, reportedly received a special treatment among the companies that were banned.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said, “Ghanaians deserve to know how come the excellent undercover work undertaken by Anas Aremeyaw Anas exposed some companies as involved in cocoa smuggling in the Western Region, leading to all of them being banned from trading there. Yet, only that company, Armajaro, has apparently gotten its ban lifted?” he queried.

Armajaro Ghana Limited, Diabe and Transroyal were all indicted and banned after the New Crusading Guide’s undercover video footage on the operations of CEPS officials involved in facilitating the smuggling of cocoa across the country’s border with la Cote d’Ivoire in April 2010. Of the three companies banned, only Armajaro’s ban was lifted just weeks after the British government got involved on behalf of the British tycoon, Ward.

“Cocobod have to now explain to us why that decision was taken. Something untoward appears to have influenced that unusual decision. They need to clear the air on this and without delay,” Mr Obestebi-Lamptey said.

He also finds it strange that “the President of the Republic, who earlier this year was criticizing the Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS) for failing to meet its revenue targets, has chosen to be silent on this serious matter. Does he know something he does not want us to know? Who caused for the ban to be lifted? Why was it lifted? We need to know.”

He continued, “We can’t be complaining about cocoa smuggling on one hand and, on the other hand, when an investigative journalist, with his own resources goes to expose a company that is dealing in smuggling, the owner of that company can apparently use his influence at high places to have that ban removed.”

The report by Sunday Times journalist, Marie Woolf, said that Andrew Ward, the owner of Armajaro, who had donated money to the minister’s parliamentary office, asked Andrew Mitchell to lobby the Ghanaian government "at a presidential level".

Documents released under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act indicated that Foreign Office civil servants raised questions as to why the British government should intervene on behalf of Armajaro: "Is this… something we should lobby on? Or should the UK company realise they have broken the rules and have to pay the price?" asked an official during a recorded exchange of correspondence.

In a related development, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the MP for Kwadaso, has asked an urgent question to the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning demanding an answer on the floor of the House on “the circumstances that led to the revocation of the licence for Armajaro Limited to purchase cocoa in the Western region and the current status of that licence.”

He did this on November 5 and the Minister is expected to issue an oral response in about a week’s time.

Read more: How the Vice President betrayed cocoa farmers

For more information please contact, NPP Communications Directorate, Headquarters, Asylum Down. Curtis Perry Kwabla Okudzeto Deputy Director of Communication