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CPC is broke, worker's union reveals

According to one of the workers who spoke to Pulse Business on condition of anonymity, the company is struggling to come up with money to purchase cocoa beans.

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Workers of  the Cocoa Processing Company have further stoked controversy surrounding the shutdown of the company's cocoa processing plants.

Whilst the Public Relations Manager of the processing company said the shutdown was for planned maintenance, the workers have alleged that it is due to the poor financial conditions of the company.

According to one of the workers who spoke to on condition of anonymity, the company is struggling to come up with money to purchase cocoa beans.

"The truth of the matter is that there are cocoa beans as we speak. The company has not bought any beans. Also,  the company cannot make profit for the pensioners who have shares in the company. "

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This position has been reiterated by the Chairman of the CPC Workers Union, Kingsley Owusu:

"CPC is cash-strapped and needs money to survive since their competitors are providing ready cash for cocoa beans." he said.He said pensioners, who had invested hugely in the company, were unhappy because the company had failed to pay dividend to them.

Meanwhile, Isaac Osei, former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, the management body of Cocoa Processing Company, has said the processing company has been suffering revenue challenges for quite some time.

" The problem is  the ratio of confectionery and butter production. The money is in the production of confectionery but I don't know if they have the required funding to run the confectionery productions",  he said in an interview with Joy News.

The former CEO of COCOBOD, however agrees with a decision to engage a strategic partner to provide the needed funding to  turn the company to profitability.

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Reports from the Ghana Stock Exchange show the company has not been able to pay dividends to its  shareholders for years.

This notwithstanding, the Cocoa Processing Company maintains the shutdown is routine and a normal development.

The Workers of the company criticized management for taking the unilateral decision to shut down the company under the pretext of undertaking maintenance work.

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