Scientist Reveals To Court Cocoa Nti Fertilizer Certified

Mr. Alfred Arthur, a scientist with the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) has told an Accra High Court at the trial of Dr. Stephen Opuni, former CEO of the Ghana COCOBOD and Alhaji Seidu Agongo that the sale of fertilizers which are alleged to be substandard went through the full certification process before Enepa Ventures, a fertilizer distribution company was issued license to sell the product.

Mr. Arthur who is a key witness in the trial of Dr. Opuni debunked claims that Cocoa Nti fertilizer did not go through the full certification process.

Dr. Opuni, Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana, which also belongs to Mr. Agongo are cumulatively facing some 27 charges, including causing financial loss to the state, abetment of crime and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Counsel for the second and third accused, Mr. Agongo and Agricult, had earlier questioned the processes that had to Enepa Ventures' Cocoa Nti fertilizer being certified suggesting that a number of procedures were subverted to the advantage of the fertilizer company.

But Mr. Alfred Arthur during cross examination by the defense counsel told the Criminal Court of the Accra High Court that Enepa Ventures did nothing untoward in its application for certification of Cocoa Nti fertilizer.

He narrated that the Enepa Ventures had in May 2013 submitted a nameless sample fertilizer for testing by CRIG. According to him, the sample could not complete the requisite testing processes and was suspended in March 2015 due to the fact the samples came directly from Enepa rather than COCOBOD, per the existing administrative procedure.

Following the suspension of the testing process, a disciplinary committee was instituted in late 2016 to find out more about why fertilizer samples for testing were sent directly to CRIG rather than to COCOBOD for onward sending to CRIG.

The witness told the court that following Enepa Ventures' unsuccessful first attempt; it again in March 2016 submitted another fertilizer, Cocoa Nti, for certification to COCOBOD which then directed it to CRIG for testing.

The new application was successful following a number of tests conducted and COCOBOD finally gave certification to Cocoa Nti fertilizer in March 2018 to be used on Cocoa farms across the country.

The witness avers that the process that started in 2013 by Enepa Ventures duly ended and was unsuccessful until a new process was commenced in 2016 and that culminated in the certification of Cocoa Nti fertilizer.

Dr. Arthur also denied assertions by the counsel for accused that Enepa Ventures and its sister company, Agriculture Manufacturing Group Ltd (AMG), were affiliated to a Morrocan company which had in 2013 sponsored a trip he undertook to a science conference in Agadir, Morroco.

He stated that while he admits that the Moroccan fertilizer company, OCP Group, sponsored his trip, the sponsorship itself was subject to the approval of CRIG and COCOBOD and thus was not a unilateral decision he took.

Dr. Arthur told the court to the best of his knowledge Enepa Ventures and AMG Limited were not in any way affiliated to OCP and that his sponsorship had come as a result of the Moroccan company seeking to get CRIG to understand its business model and subsequently set up in Ghana.

Background
In March 2018, the Attorney General (AG) charged Dr. Opuni and a businessman, Seidu Agongo, the CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited, with 27 counts.

It is the contention of the Attorney General that Dr. Opuni, during his tenure as COCOBOD CEO (November 2013 to January 2017), breached laid down procedures in procurement and other laws that led the state to lose GHS271.3 million in the alleged fertilizer scandal and the distribution of substandard fertilizer to cocoa farmers.

Mr Agongo is also alleged to have used fraudulent means to sell substandard fertilizer to COCOBOD for onward distribution to cocoa farmers.

The two accused persons have denied any wrongdoing and have pleaded not guilty to all the 27 charges and have been granted a GH¢300,000.00 each self-recognisance bail by the Court.

They are currently on bail in the sum of GHC300, 000 each.

---GNA