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COCOBOD defends $20,000 expenditure on venue
Head of Corporate Communications at COCOBOD, Noah Amenya has explained the circumstances under which the board paid $20,000 for the venue of the signing of the $1.8 billion Cocoa Syndicated Loan in 2015.
In an interview with Pulse.com.gh, Mr. Amenyah said it was mandatory for the board to pay for a very secured venue for the signing commensurate to the standards of the lending banks.
The COCOBOD signed the - Cocoa Syndicated Loan with some banks in Paris on 17th September, 2015. The money was to be used to purchase 900,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for the 2015/2016 crop season.
However in the approval process of COCOBOD’s next syndicated loan of $2 billion for the 2016/2017 season in parliament on Wednesday, the minority raised questions about certain expenditure items in the build-up to the signing of last year’s syndicated loan as well as how the loan itself was spent.
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MP for Abuakwah South, Atta Akyea raised grave concerns about the fact that Cocoa Board spent $20,000 on the venue for the signing of the loan.
In defence of the expenditure, Head of Corporate Communications at COCOBOD, Noah Amenyah said the expenditure was extremely necessary to the signing process.
“ The place where we are signing the facility must be secured enough for the international banks giving us the loan facility, for ourselves and also for all the diplomats who usually attend the signing.”
When asked whether COCOBOD was the one to foot the bill of the venue and not the banks, Noah Amenyah said it was mandatory for COCOBOD to provide the venue.
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“This is not the first time COCOBOD is providing the venue for the signing. We have always provided the venue and that is how these facility signings go. It is mandatory for you who is borrowing the huge sum of money to provide the venue ”, Noah Amenyah said.
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