Former CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr Stephen Opuni is alleged to have approved the release of harmful agrochemicals onto the market.
This was contained in an investigative report compiled by COCOBOD which revealed that a contract was signed by Dr Opuni to approve the sale of agrochemicals at a cost of about $19 million in March 2014.
The agrochemicals, including Lithovit fertiliser which was produced by Agriclut Ghana Limited, was found harmful to humans, animals and hazardous to water.
The investigation also alleged that some officials at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana compromised scientific testing and issued certificates for cocoa fertilisers that had not gone through the full testing and trial procedure.
According to the report, some of those fertilisers had been diluted and as such did not meet the required standards after being tested by the Ghana Standards Board.
It continued to state that despite the dangers proven by tests that Lithovit fertiliser produced by Agriclut Ghana Limited was harmful, Dr Stephen Opuni in February 2014 requested Agriclut to give prices for 700,000 litres of the fertiliser, and subsequently signed a contract for the fertilisers to be supplied to farmers.
Background- Charges levelled against Dr Opuni
Dr Stephen Opuni together with one businessman Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited, have been charged with twenty-seven counts of offences including defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state.
Six counts out of the 27 are in respect of abetment and defrauding by false pretence in various sums amounting to GHS₵217,345,289 and six other counts are for conspiring and willfully causing financial loss to the state in the same amount. Also, eight counts involve offences relating to the contravention of the Public Procurement Act 2003, Act 663.
Economic and Organised Crimes Office, EOCO, froze the assets of Dr Stephen Opuni as part of investigations into his tenure as CEO of COCOBOD in 2017.
The NPP government after taking over the administration of the country terminated the contract of Dr Stephen Opuni for alleged misappropriations.
Dr Opuni, appointed on November 30, 2013, to head COCOBOD, is alleged to have mismanaged the cocoa sector during his four-year tenure.
The former Chief Executive of the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority was relieved of his post on January 12, 2017, and appointed to Cocobod.