Policy analyst and President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has come to the defence of Ato Boateng, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Finance and Administration at the Ghana Cocoa Board.
Mr Cudjoe accused Member of Parliament for the Old Tafo Constituency, Vincent Ekow Assafuah of attempting to damage the official’s reputation in a dispute linked to payment claims by a private company.
In a post on X, Cudjoe alleged that some companies were attempting to secure payments from COCOBOD through what he described as inflated and fraudulent claims exceeding GH¢120 million, insisting that the actual amount owed was closer to GH¢30 million.
“It is disgraceful that a sitting member of Parliament would allow himself to be used by crooked companies that want to virtually steal from COCOBOD with fictitious and fraudulent claims of over GH¢120m they claim are owed them by the previous administration when in fact they are owed just about GH¢30m,” he said.
Cudjoe said Boateng, whom he described as technically qualified, identified irregularities in the claims and rejected them. “From the moment Ato denied this company the opportunity to steal from COCOBOD, Ato became public enemy number one,” he said.
According to him, pressure subsequently mounted from within the cocoa sector and related institutions, culminating in what he described as political attacks against Boateng in Parliament. Cudjoe further called on Vincent Ekow Assafuah to apologise to Boateng, accusing the lawmaker of engaging in unjustified personal attacks.
“Mr. Assafuah must render an unqualified apology to the Honourable Ato Boateng for the unjustified character assassination,” he said, adding that attempts to blackmail the COCOBOD official should cease.
He also urged the Office of the Special Prosecutor to drop charges he claimed were improperly initiated against Boateng. Cudjoe warned that the dispute, if allowed to escalate, could undermine confidence in COCOBOD among international financial partners and weaken governance within Ghana’s cocoa industry.
“If the ugly noise generated by this cold and machiavellian project is allowed to fester, it would damage COCOBOD’s standing in the eyes of its true financial partners,” he said.
Boateng, a Harvard-trained chartered financial analyst and large projects manager, previously worked with the International Finance Corporation before establishing Atlas Commodities Limited, according to Cudjoe.
He described Boateng’s appointment to COCOBOD by Chief Executive Officer Randy Abbey as one of the best decisions taken by the institution’s leadership, urging the government not to bow to what he characterised as pressure from vested interests.
