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A former Director of Finance at COCOBOD, Charles Tetteh Dodoo has reiterated that COCOBOD would never pay for any fertilizer that has not been verified and recommended by the internal audit department.
“When I came back to COCOBOD as Deputy Director of Audit, purchases of goods had to be verified by the Internal Audit Department before recommendation for payment is made,” he told the High Court hearing the trial of former COCOBOD boss Dr Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo on Thursday.
The two as well as Agricult Ghana Limited, are facing over 25 charges, including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the state, corruption by public officers and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
The witness was giving his testimony under cross examination led by counsel for Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited, lawyer Nutifafa Nutsukpui and presided over by Justice Clemence Honyenuga.
Asked how he came by that fact, Mr. Dodoo stated:
“As Director of Finance, when the payments were being made for the fertilizer, I was in charge of the payments.The payment goes through a rigrious process. All the payments will be forwarded to the audit department . Much as all letters relating to the purchase of the fertilizers, copies will be given. The audit will go through the origin of the letters . From the procurement letters through to the PPA letters to the entity tender committee before the audit manager will write letters giving clearance to the items received to be paid for.
Mr. Charles Tetteh Dodoo, who is a former board member of COCOBOD as well as member of its Entity Tender Committee, said COCOBOD never bought and paid for any agrochemical that was not budgeted for and listed in the procurement plan for the cocoa season.
He walked the court through how decisions are taken at the board including how committee’s are tasked to delve into specific issues like procurement and the subsequent adoption of the committee’s report by the board.
The witness further pointed out that, it is the board’s sole responsibility to approve the final budget for COCOBOD in any particular year. This, he said, is done after consideration from the finance sub Committee.
“More often than not, decisions [of the board] are arrived at by consensus,” Mr. Dodoo who served on COCOBOD board for eight years said.
He was then asked how decisions are taken by the board in the absence of consensus.
“My Lord, I do not recollect the time when there have been division that might require a vote,” the witness said.
Read excerpts of Thursday’s proceedings
Q: how were board decisions taken on this board that you served?
Ans : when there is an issue, management could be called by the board chair to get an overview of the matters. The board chair will refer the matter to sub Committee and report on the issue at the next board meeting. At the subsequent board meeting, the sub Committee’s report will be presented to be discussed, decisions will then be made and report adopted.
Q: Now that decisions of committee in that report, how is it arrived at by the board.
Ans : more often than not,that decisions are arrived at by consensus.
Q: in the absence of consensus, how did the board make it decisions?
A: My Lord, I do not recollect the time when there have been division that might require a vote.
Q: did that board you served keep minutes?
Ans : yes my lord
Q: From inception of your employment with COCOBOD in 2004, did any of the functions of your office or roles bring you into knowledge of the workings of the board at the time even before you became a board member?
Ans : yes my lord,
Q: what role was this?
A: As audit manager in the head office directly assisting the Director of Audit, there has been a couple of times when the audit has referred the board minutes for ascertaining some facts to assist the audit in their work
Q: Now, the first board you served on from 2009 to 2014, was it involved in the budgeting processes of COCOBOD?
Ans : yes my lord .
Q: was the board involved in the processes of approving the procurement plan of COCOBOD.
A: Not quite
Q: What specifically did this board have to do with the budget process at the time
A: My Lord, one of the key factors of COCOBOD’s budget is fixing of the producer price of cocoa. My Lord, if I may explain, the producer price of cocoa is the price payable to the farmer by COCOBOD for a bag of 64kg of cocoa. This price is determined on the last day of September or the first day of October for immediate announcement to the general public. This determination at that time has to be done by a committee chaired by the Minister of Finance under whose ministry COCOBOD at the time was. So the board chairman of COCOBOD and all other board members had to be at that committee meeting. There were other stakeholders who also had to be at that meeting, key among them apart from COCOBOD was the finance ministry and representatives from Bank of Ghana. They have representatives from licensed buying companies and then transporters.
Q: Now, sir, who had the responsibility for approving the final budget for COCOBOD in any particular year?
Ans : my Lord it is the board after consideration from the finance sub Committee.
Q: under the first board you served on, COCOBOD did not procure any set of goods without board approval. Is that correct?
Ans : my Lord, I cannot recollect .
Q: as director of finance in your experience, did COCOBOD pay for any goods that was not approved in the budget in any year?
Ans : my Lord I do not recollect but the budget can be reviewed along the line pending management representation.
Q: Sir by the practice of COCOBOD, budget whether original or reviewed does not authorise payment. As director of finance, would you have authorised payment for any such service or goods if it was procured?
Ans : my Lord, the procurement process will require authorisation per the budget and subsequently payment for that goods or services will be made.
Q: so in essence, any procurement must have been authorised by the budget.
Ans : that is correct. Let me add that significant items like fertiliser will be listed and others like normal office equipment may not be itemised, they will be in a group.
Q: sir, where will these significant items be listed? Is it in the budget?
Ans: they will be in the procurement plan attached to the budget.
Q: now the second board that you served on according to you was sworn in from 2014 to which period sir?
Ans : till December, 2016.
Q: sir do you recall how many members there were on the board?
Ans : COCOBOD has a statutory requirement for the number of persons on the board. I cannot recollect the exact number per the statue.
Q: but do you remember who chaired this second board?
Ans: the second board was chaired by Ambassador ohene Agyekum.
Q: And would you remember some of the other members you served with on this board?
Ans : there was the Governor of Bank of Ghana, Mrs Afriyie Haffar, deputy minister of finance, Hon Ato Forson, then we had two farmers representatives, one Nana Damoah.
Q: On this second board, did you serve on any sub Committee as well?
Q: did this second board also have the responsibility of approving the final budget of COCOBOD in any year during the board’s tenure?
Ans : yes my lord
Q: so for the period of 2014 to 2016 this second board had approved budgets in which the significant items for procurement were listed?
Ass : yes my lord
Q: Now did the decision making process of the second board differ in anyway from that of the first board you served on where decisions were arrived at by consensus?
Ans : not really
Q: was it ever possible on this second board for a sole member the board to take any decision on behalf of the board or in the name of the board
Ans: yes my lord, it is the board chairman who will then inform other board members subsequently.
Q: but if the board chairman took the decisions on behalf of the board by practice, the whole board must ratify that decision subsequently, is that correct?
Ans : My Lord, I will not say that exactly and I will explain, Ambassador ohene Agyekum dealt with the board in a very friendly manner. So if he announces or informs the members about an emergency that cropped up which required him to make the decision on their behalf, more often than not members will say “chairman, respectfully agree ”
Q: would you remember between 2014 to 2016, the budgets for COCOBOD at that time were approved by consensus or only by the chairman, Ambassador ohene Agyekum.
Ans : the budget as stated earlier on will always be approved by consensus.
Q: on 2nd December 2021 in your evidence in chief, you told this court that any major procurement emanated from the approved budget.
Ans : yes my Lord
Q: you also said that the financial year of COCOBOD starts from 1st October and ends in 30th September the following year.
Ans : yes my lord
Q: And according to you typically a COCOBOD budget would have been approved by the board in November of the year in which the budget starts. Is that correct?
Ans : my lord that is correct. I mentioned earlier today that one of the key factors in the budget is the producer price that is paid to the farmer and that will always be announced on the 1st October. After the announcement of the producer price that is when the budget will now be finalized and presented to the board in it’s subsequent meeting.
Q: Were the 2014 to 2016 budgets for COCOBOD approved in the same manner as far as you recall?
Ans : yes my lord
Q: you said earlier today that procurement plan is attached to the budget before the approval is given by the board. Is that correct?
Ans : yes my lord
Q: so in essence, the board does approve the budget and the procurement plan. Is that correct?
Ans : yes my lord
Q: ones approved, this procurement plan ordinarily will govern the procurement activities of COCOBOD for the year in question.
Ans : yes my lord
Q: as far as you recall, between 2014 to 2016, were these steps in approving the budget and the procurement plan followed by the board that you served on?
Ans : yes my lord .
….
Q,: you told the court that after approval a copy of the procurement plan is lodged with the PPA. Is that correct.
Ans : yes my lord
Q: was it the case throughout your service on the board from 2009 to 2016 Sir
A: 2009 to 2014 I was not too much involved with the details of procurement apart from Audit verifications from procurement. 2009 when I was on the board I was a manager at a different division not in head office. I was visiting head office, CE’s office on board issues. I came back to head office Audit January 2012 as Deputy Audit, that is when I became a bit more involved with procurement issues at head office.
Q : sir but between 2014 and 2017, can you confirm that the procurement plans for those years were lodged with the PPA?
Ans yes my lord, that I can confirm.
Q: sir, as far as you are aware, no supplier of goods participates or influences these procurement processes you are describing in this court. Is this correct.
Ans : my Lord I have no knowledge of any supplier of goods or services have an influence on these processes. What I will add is that the suppliers or their representatives come often to COCOBOD to follow up on their issues.
Q: sir, you told this court also that as part of the audit process you verified from the warehouses when the product called Lithovit liquid fertilizer was purchased and delivered to those COCOBOD warehouses. Is that correct?
A: yes my lord. I want to add that when I came back to COCOBOD as Deputy Director of Audit purchases of goods had to be verified by the Internal Audit Department before recommendation for payment is made.
