A Commission of Inquiry set up in 2014 after the shambolic showing in the World Cup that year, revealed the country spent approximately $700,000 on unclassified payments and subsequently recommended such payments be scrapped.

While the government whitepaper issued on the findings rejected the recommendation, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has since ceased allocating money for such purpose.

Speaking on Citi FM’s Sports Panorama show on Friday night, Wilfried Kweku Osei, a Ghana Football Association Executive Committee member, believes the unavailability of budgetary allocation to cater for referees is the reason the country missed out on a 4th successive World Cup appearance.

“I was quite surprised that Ghanaians and the media sided with former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye [about not budgeting for indemnities] when the government whitepaper on the Dzamefe Commission report clearly indicated that unclassified payments were legal in the concept of our budget.

“If we had spent around $300,000 dollars [on referees], and stood to benefit about $8 million [by appearing at the World Cup], I see nothing wrong with it,” he said.

When pressed on why such an amount of money should be spent on referees, Kwaku Osei clarified that the essence of the payment to the referees is to ensure fairness.

“When we say unclassified payments, it’s not necessarily giving money directly to the referee. It can be in kind, it can be in cash. The essence of it is not for the referee to be biased towards your opponent.”

“…But if that was a necessary concomitant to create convenient atmosphere for the referee to be fair-minded in the course of the game, then I see nothing wrong with it,” he added.

Kwaku Osei, owner of Ghana Premier League side Tema Youth, which is currently fighting a battle to escape relegation from Ghana’s top division, went on to suggest Egypt and Uganda could have influenced referees’ decisions to disallow goals scored by Ghana in games against Congo and Uganda.

“Are you telling me the first goal Ghana scored against Congo in Kumasi was a bad goal? But the referee disallowed it. Do you know what motivated him to do that? It clearly points to the fact that he was being influenced by an invisible force. That could be Egypt; that could be Uganda or any of the countries we were competing against,” he said.

“When we went to Uganda, you saw clearly that the push on Frank Acheampong was a penalty. The first goal Amartey scored was a clean goal, the last goal Dwamena scored that was disallowed was a clean goal. So we’re not asking for anything beyond the referee being fair,” he concluded.

The Black Stars failed to qualify for Russia 2018 after winning just one game in their four qualifying matches. They host Egypt, who qualified from Ghana’s group, on November 12, 2017 in Kumasi.

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By: Fentuo Tahiru/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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That development has compelled COCOBOD to take drastic measures to halt the continued supply of cocoa beans to the companies to save the board from going bankrupt.

The move is likely to affect more than 6,000 permanent and casual workers of the companies and their outsource service providers across the country.

The amount owed COCOBOD ranges from $3 million to more than $50 million per company since 2010.

The companies are Plot Enterprise Ghana, Afro Tropical, Real Commodities, West African Mills Company (WAMCO) and the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC).

Agreement

Under the Old Beans Supply Agreement, companies buying from COCOBOD neither needed to pay upfront nor get a guarantor.

The companies were at liberty to lift the produce, process for sale and later pay COCOBOD its due.

The Head of Marketing at COCOBOD, Mr Edem Amegashie, made this known to the Daily Graphic in response to a distress call by some workers of Plot Enterprise, a wholly Ghanaian-owned cocoa processing company in Takoradi.

The workers had complained to the Daily Graphic that they had not undertaken any production since February 2014 because the premises of the company had been virtually closed down.

They replied in the affirmative when asked whether their salaries were still being paid, with one of their leaders adding, “We are not sure how long our employers will continue to pay us for no work done. If that happens, you can imagine the problem.”

Mr Amegashie told the Daily Graphic that Plot Enterprise owed COCOBOD to the tune of $43 million.

“After a lot of pressure, the management of Plot came and paid $10 million and are yet to settle the remaining $33 million,” he said.

Ghanaian Companies

The Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, said Ghanaian firms were capitalising on the fact that they were being supported to stay in business and create jobs.

“We cannot run this country like that. We are very much aware of the fact that the government pledged support for local companies, but that does not mean that the companies can drive to our premises, haul the produce and refuse to pay,” he said.

Dr Opuni said the finances of COCOBOD were going bad, adding that one person or group of people should not be allowed to hold the country to ransom.

Plot Enterprise

Plot Enterprise engages more than 122 workers, as well as about 600 others contracted to provide various services for the company.

When the Daily Graphic visited the plant, which was inaugurated by President John Evans Atta Mills in February 2011, only six technical staff members were within the premises.

The company produces cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa cake for the local and international markets, with an investment amounting to $40 million.

It was one of the largest single investments by a wholly owned Ghanaian non-governmental corporate body in the last decade.

The company, according to officials, fitted perfectly into the government’s policy of enhancing value addition to agricultural produce and raw materials of local origin.

Some members of staff of Plot Enterprise who pleaded anonymity said the company had very great potential.

Source: Graphic/Ghana

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