Kevin Taylor alleges $45 million COCOBOD scandal involving Chairman Wontumi

Kevin Taylor has released a document pointing to a $45 million unwarranted road contract awarded to Chairman Wontumi by the Ghana Cocoa Board(COCOBOD).

The US-based Ghanaian journalist alleged that the contract was dubiously awarded to Chairman Wontumi’s 2-year-old engineering company called Hallmark Civil Engineering Ltd.

The document, a letter, from COCOBOD, dated, November 20, 2020, is titled ”Rehabilitation of roads in cocoa-growing areas – Construction of Dadieso-Akontombra road (KM 4.00 – 26.30) Awaso-Asawinso (Bibiani Jn) Western North).

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP’s engineering company was set up in 2018 and according to Kevin, it is quite alarming that they would be awarded such a huge contract with so little experience on the job.

The content of the letter reveals that the road is not asphalted and that a whopping $2 million would be spent per kilometre.

Again, per the letter, the contract was priced at US$ 45,199,526.96 for a period of 24 months.

Furthermore, Chairman Wontumi was obligated to sign a Performance Bond/Security for 10 per cent of the contract price issued by a reputable bank within 21 days or risk losing the contract.

SEE DOCUMENT BELOW:

If there is any truth to the allegations made by Kevin Taylor, then COCOBOD would have some answers to give concerning the purported scandal.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s cocoa marketing and regulatory body, COCOBOD, had approved GHC 1.2 billion for payments to road contractors under the cocoa roads program under John Dramani Mahama’s administration.

It is fascinating that the current management of COCOBOD led by its Chief Executive, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has refused to release audits of road contracts under his watch pointing to some legal protection.

According to him, Ghanaians who want access to the audit should go through the necessary process to get it.