The Bono Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe aka Abronye DC has disclosed that he is surprised about the U-turn of the former President John Dramani Mahama purporting to care for cocoa farmers.

According to him Mr. Mahama has no respect for Ghanaians because he thinks he can continue to deceive many by playing on their intelligence.

His statement follows Mr. Mahama’s latest jab to President Akufo-Addo during an interaction with cocoa farmers and the people of Enchi in the Aowin Constituency of the Western North Region on Tuesday, 16th July, 2019.

The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. John Dramani Mahama described as sheer wickedness President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to stop the supply of free fertilizers to cocoa farmers and allow the fertilizers to expire and dispose of them.

“I feel very sad for our cocoa farmers”, President Mahama said, adding “we had good plans and started implementing good policies for the cocoa sector”.

“When we started giving out free fertilizers, it was because we realized it will help improve yield, and in the 2016/17 crop year, we recorded 950,000 tons… I cannot understand why this government will decide to stop that and sell the fertilizers to the farmers… In fact, it is wickedness to leave the fertilizers in warehouses because the farmers cannot and won’t buy them, and throw them away after they expire,” he lamented.

But reacting to Mr. Mahama’s comments in a statement copied to peacefmonline.com, Abronye stated that the former president has no credibility to talk when it comes to cocoa issues because to him Mr. Mahama and a certain CEO at Cocobod created, looted and shared from the sweat of the ordinary cocoa farmer.

“Certainly, I am sure John Mahama did not feel sad during those days when his CEO was milking cocobod, soon feeding his wife and bringing him his percentage,” part of the statement said.

Read full statement below;

RE: I FEEL SAD AND SORRY FOR COCOA FARMERS SAYS JOHN MAHAMA.

The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama has described as sheer wickedness President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to restructure the Cocoa Industry.

John Mahama on his comeback tour to dupe the nation again was speaking during an interaction with cocoa farmers and the people of Enchi in the Aowin Constituency of the Western North Region on Tuesday. He noted among other things that, "I feel very sad for our cocoa farmers”, President Mahama said, adding “we had good plans and started implementing good policies for the cocoa sector”.

Now, I hold a vehement view that, as at now, Mr. Mahama has still not learnt his lessons and still has no respect for Ghanaians. Mahama has taken Ghanaians for granted and still thinks Ghanaians have short memories.

I am surprised about Mahama's sudden U Turn and now purporting to care for cocoa farmers.

In case John Mahama has forgotten, during the period of 2012 to 2016, we had a president of this country and a certain CEO at Cocobod who created, looted and shared from the sweat of the ordinary cocoa farmer. Certainly, I am sure John Mahama did not feel sad during those days when his CEO was milking cocobod, soon feeding his wife and bringing him his percentage.

During the John Mahama NDC administration this were some of their noted achievements at Cocobod;

1. Under John Mahama, cocoa farmers suffered many atrocities and inhuman cocoa policies. Under the NDC John Mahama-led administration, the sweat of the cocoa farmer who was not able to pay his wards school fees was used to build a guest house for him (Mahama) at his hometown an overwhelming inflated cost of GhS 7.7 million

2. Under a certain John Mahama's tenure as president, the poor and hardworking cocoa farmer's sweat (money from cocoabod ) worth about $25million was used to pay construction pioneers as judgment debt whilst the cocoa farmers were struggling to get fertilizers

3. Under the John Mahama led NDC administration, between 2015/ 2016, $1.8 billion cocoa syndicated loan was supposed to be used to purchase a million tonnes of cocoa however, only 587,125 metric tonnes of cocoa were purchased and the rest of the monies got lost. I am sure dwarfs from the NDC party Head quarters came for those monies.

4. Under John Mahama, cocobod was saddled with a whopping debt of Ghs 19.6 billion as a result of avoidable expenditures and loses.

5. Under the treacherous John Mahama administration, many of the cocoa road contracts awarded were found to be non existent and other unprecedentedly inflated.

Examples of such inflated cocoa roads projects includes;
i. Bitumen surfacing of Asankare Kwabeng feeder road which is a 17 km road was awarded at a cost of Ghs 19,889,530.00 million

ii. Rehabilitation of Sunyani Secondary school roads and Asana new roads. A 8.94km road was awarded for Ghs 19 million.

iii. Pokukrom Ahwerewam road was also awarded for Ghs 19 million.
This is a clear indication of a create, loot and share government. However, under the leadership of Prez Akuffo Addo and supervision of the competent Joesph Boahen Adu as CEO of cocobod, all these dubious contracts have been repudiated.

6. Under the John Mahama administration, 4 wheel drive vehicles were purchased by COCOBOD for contractors as part of the contract price.
For instance, An 18km road was allocated 6 four wheel drive vehicles.
However, steps has been taken by the current able Nana Addo administration to recover all such state vehicles from such contractors.

7. Under the John Mahama administration, trading at the CMC which was directly supervised by a certain former CEO supervised the loss of Ghs 50,000.00 dollars in the 2015/2016 crop season.

8. John Mahama as president also succeeded in cancelling the cocoa mass spraying exercise and rather introduced the distribution of substandard and inferior insecticides.

9. John Mahama succeeded in terminating the rehabilitation program introduced by NPP part 1.

10. Under the treacherous John Mahama administration, a whopping $24 million wealth contract was awarded JUST to demolish an excellent cocoa staff housing quaters.
I do not know if this building is equivalent to the walls of hell.

10. Under John Mahama we had a first lady who used Cocobod as a feeding center.

According to John Mahama, Akuffo Addo has been wicked to cocoa farmers. Some of the things Mahama sees as wickedness on the part of Pres. Akuffo Addo include;
i. Re launching of the cocoa spraying program.

ii. Re negotiation of dubious contracts awarded by John Mahama between october 2016 to 6th January, 2019 saving the ordinary Ghanaian cocoa farmer over Ghs 50 million

iii. Introduction of rehabilitation of cocoa farms which was abandoned by John Mahama and the NDC.

iv. 100,000 personnel have been trained on the use of organic cocoa fertilizer. This has created enormous employment opportunities for the youth in this country.

V. 22,000 cocoa pollinators have also been employed under the current administration.

Vi. The government has also secured $223 million for work on estimated 156 hectres over aged cocoa farms

vii. The cocoa rehabilitation program has employed over
18,600 workers.

The rehabilitation under the NPP has created 440 disease spotters, 251 technical assistant, and 246 machine operators.

All these workers receive Ghs 1,300 as remuneration under this project.

viii. Under Nana Addo pruning is undertaken at various cocoa farms each month. This will be done for a period of two years of which is been funded by the Cocobod.

ix. NDC'S so called free fertilizer between the period of 2015/16 yielded 740, 000 cocoa metric tonnes.

However, under the subsidized fertilizer policy initiated by President Nana Addo, we have been able to cultivate 950,000 metric tonnes of cocoa now.
This is because the free fertilizer under NDC was highly substandard and inferior.

It is undoubtable that the cocoa fraternity under Joseph Boahen Adu is doing better now than it was doing previously. Cocoa farmers now have value for their sweat.

Ghana is not ready to entertain a treacherous president again.
Ghanaians do not have short memories. We will continue to remind John Mahama of his mess every time we see he has forgotten.