PRESS RELEASE
Sunday, November 7, 2010
JAKE: COCOBOD MUST EXPLAIN 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
