Former President John Mahama
The flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged that President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia were directly involved in the recent seizure and auction of properties owned by Produce Buying Company Limited (PBC). did.
Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and five other banks have obtained a court order restraining them from selling or transferring the assets of PBC Limited, including its important headquarters at 106 Olusegun Obasanjowaye, Joruru Junction, Accra. .
It is not clear how many workers have lost their jobs as a result of the development.
However, former President John Dramani Mahama posted on Facebook a video showing a tow truck driving away a PBC pickup with the caption: “A day of shame for Akufo-Addo and Bawumia!” Shared. The bank will auction off PBC’s assets. From 2016 he has a 30% market share, in 2024 he will have a 0% share. ”
The seizure follows a judgment obtained against PBC Limited by six banks, including Bank of California, Bank of Africa, GCB, Universal Merchant Bank and United Bank of Africa.
The attachment order handed down by Chief Justice Gertrude Turknou was the result of allegations that PBC Limited had failed to meet its obligations to the bank, even after a judgment in the bank’s favor was granted in October 2023.
A court order prominently posted at PBC headquarters prohibits the acquisition of any interest in the property. Former President Mahama’s social media posts underline the seriousness of the situation and place blame squarely on the current government leadership for the auction and seizure of PBC assets.
The court order, issued by Chief Justice Gertrude Turknou, underscores the seriousness of the situation and is a response to allegations that PBC Limited has defaulted on its obligations to the plaintiffs.
This trend suggests a significant decline from PBC holding a 30% market share in 2016 to a reported 0% in 2024.
Ahead of the auction, COCOBOD public relations manager Fifi Boafo said sometime last April that COCOBOD had no intention of watching indigenous cocoa buying company PBC go bankrupt.
He said that despite the company facing significant challenges, COCOBOD had initiated several measures to reinvigorate the company and ensure its survival.
He told JoyNews’ PM Express: . Some private companies are going through difficult times and are considering ways to ensure their continued existence. ”
A JoyNews investigation has revealed how the country’s largest indigenous cocoa purchasing company, PBC, is on the brink of bankruptcy after its market share plummeted from 30.88 per cent to 8 per cent in the past five years.
Last January, the company’s management threatened to cut jobs, citing an inability to meet its financial and operational obligations to employees.
In August 2022, management issued a memo stating that it was unable to pay its staff. It’s now a story of huge debts, dwindling incomes, tons of cocoa beans stranded on farms, and produce clerks engaged in double-trading to survive.
According to Fifi Boafo, in order to reverse the company’s misfortune, COCOBOD is taking swift steps to ensure the survival of the company.
He said: “COCOBOD is making sure that PBCs get seed funding. COCOBOD provides seed funding so that they can go to market and buy cocoa. We have special arrangements. There is a special agreement between the Ministry of Finance and SIGA that gives them free seed funding. They provide a guarantee. If they do not provide a guarantee, the bank will It means that you can save some money as there is a cost to procuring a guarantee, so that cost is also deducted from the cost of running your business.
“Apart from that, we also noticed that they have some challenges with banks, for example. There is a challenge, so a special arrangement was made in connection with the PBC, and the amount was delivered to the regional offices, from where the agents could buy the cocoa for them.
“Of course, when we raise a CTRO, which is a receipt for the purchase of cocoa, we also have special arrangements in place to ensure that we receive that money as soon as possible in order to recover the funds,” which they can take advantage of. ”
He continued that although PBC still owes COCOBOD some money, “we still need to make sure they can get out there and do business.”
Therefore, COCOBOD is also helping PBC “streamline some of its activities” and discussed how Golden Beam is benefiting.
“This was not the case, but we recognized that this is one of the things that is bleeding institutions so much that we get an understanding to get them back on the profit line so they can make a profit and make a profit. You no longer have to send money to the hotel to run it, you can earn a profit to support your business. ”
He previously said PBC had lost so much market share in part because of intense competition from independent cocoa buying companies.