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General news for Friday, October 9, 2020
Source: angelonline.com.gh
2020-10-09
Dr. Stephen Opuni, former head of COCOBOD
A state witness in the ongoing trial of the former COCOBOD executive director and two others has categorically argued that Dr. Stephen Opuni played no role in lithovitic fertilizer testing by a responsible department of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Felicia Ansah-Amprofi, who is the National Director of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Department (PPRSD), which is Ghana’s national plant protection organization, also told the High Court that she does not know “personally and officially” to Dr. Opuni.
Former Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stephen Opuni, businessman Seidu Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Company Limited face 27 counts of intentionally causing financial losses of ¢ 217 to the state, through three separate supply contracts of fertilizers between 2014 and 2016.
They have pleaded not guilty to all charges and are on self-recognition bail of ¢ 300,000 each.
The trial has traveled for more than three years and the state called Dr. Ansah-Amprofi as its fourth witness on October 8, 2020.
The witness was the Deputy Director of PPRSD and Head of the Pesticide and Fertilizer Regulatory Division when lithovit was subjected to laboratory testing and certified for use in Ghana in 2013.
Farmer Ghana Company Ltd, the sole supplier of lithovit fertilizers, was also certified by the same organization to trade in fertilizers.
Sounding very experienced, the witness who said she was “well versed” in the Plants and Fertilizers Act 2010 (Act 803) walked the court through the process to obtain a certified product and company to trade in fertilizers in Ghana.
“If an individual or a company wants to do business with fertilizers in Ghana, the product and the company must be registered with the PPRSD office.
“You must submit your application through the hon. minister who wants to register your company and product to do business in Ghana. Then the hon. minister to the director of the PPRSD for action.
“The director also reports to the head of the Pesticides and Fertilizers Regulatory Division (PFRD) to act.
“The division has procedures to follow. When the record reaches the head of the division, the applicant is invited to explain the procedure.
“For company registration, the applicant is asked to present a registration certificate and a certificate to start business from the Registrar General.
“For product registration, the applicant is asked to submit the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) of the product and is asked to re-apply to bring samples of the product for laboratory analysis.
“After that, a committee sits on the result, and if the lab result is the same or is within the acceptable range of results guaranteed by the manufacturer, the product is approved by the committee and the applicant is reported to pay. the fees so you can choose your certificate. Basically, that’s the procedure to ensure fertilizers and companies are registered to operate in Ghana.
When the chief state attorney, Stella Ohene Appiah, asked the witness about the lithovit fertilizer certification, she confirmed:
“Then Agricult Ghana Limited, Lithovit foliar fertilizers were registered, although the request came in 2013 and the lab tests were done in June 2013, the certification payment was delayed, the certification was given in 2014 after paying in 2014 .
“Certificates were issued for the Agricult Ghana Company Limited to start operating in Ghana.
However, Dr. Felicia Ansah-Amprofi noted that even after a product has been certified by PPRSD, the Ghana Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG), a division of COCOBOD, is the only institute with authority to certify cocoa fertilizers for use in the country.
Interrogation
Immediately the prosecution took the witness to testify in chief, she was subjected to cross-examination by Dr. Opuni’s main lawyer, who is the first accused.
This followed between attorney Samuel Cudjoe and the witness:
Q: Ms. Ansah-Amprofi, you have never had any dealings with Dr. Opuni, the first defendant
A: no please
Q: In all your dealings with the Farmer litigation, you never had contact or dealings with the first defendant.
Like this, please
Q: To your knowledge, as far as his division and / or address is concerned, Dr. Opuni has no connection to lithovit that is registered at his address.
Like this, please.
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