Stephen Opuni
A policeman yesterday told the Accra High Court that Seidu Agongo, the Managing Director of Agricult Ghana Limited, a fertiliser manufacturing company, sold Lithovit Liquid fertiliser to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) between 2014 to 2017.
Detective Inspector Mercer Prempeh, was testifying as seventh witness in the case in which Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni and Mr Agongo are standing trial for alleged procurement breaches and stealing, in a fertiliser deal.
Insp Prempeh told the court that Agricult Limited presented a powdery substance to the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) for testing, but it was later sold as liquid substance to Cocoa Board.
Opuni Trial: COCOBOD bought $64.5m fertiliser from Agricult; Witness
The Law Courts Complex in Accra
The seventh prosecution witness (PW7), Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Prempeh Mercer, has told an Accra High that Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), between 2014 and 2016, procured fertiliser from Agricult Ghana Limited worth US$64.5 million.
The witness testified that COCOBOD made these procurement when the product, Lithovit Foliar Fertiliser, had not fully met the testing requirement of the Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG).
According to him, the Board acted on the instruction of its then Chief Executive Officer, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, who ordered CRIG to issue a certificate to Agricult Ghana Limited, despite testing Lithovit Foliar Fertiliser for just six months.
COCOBOD trial: Prosecution witness exposed under cross-examination again
The 6th prosecution witness, Peter Osei Amoako, has been exposed by counsel for Seidu Agongo the CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited, for creating the impression that correspondence between COCOBOD and Public Procurement Authority (PPA) in February 2014 only centered on Lithovit Liquid Fertilizer.
It was revealed in court that COCOBOD’s letter to PPA dated 25th February 2014 seeking approval to sole source fertilizers for cocoa HITEC programme 2013/2014 had five other products/fertilizers listed.
The reply from PPA to COCOBOD also made mention of all the six fertilizers which included: 700,000 litres of Asaasewura from Wienco Ghana Ltd at the cost of GHC64,883,000; 500,000 litres of Cocoa Master for GHC50,120,000; 400,000 litres of Cocoa Feed at the stated price of GHC43,468,000; Sildaco 10:10:10; and 700,000 litres of Lithovit fertilizer at the cost of GHc43,120.000