Wontumi denies GH₵50m COCOBOD payment claims

Bernard Antwi Boasiako, known as Chairman Wontumi, is the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He has denied claims that he received GH₵50 million from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD). These allegations surfaced during the final days of the Akufo-Addo administration.

Recent media reports suggested that Wontumi’s company, Hallmark Engineering, was paid a large sum by COCOBOD. This occurred despite a directive from then-incoming Chief of Staff Julius Debrah to suspend contract payments during the transition period. Wontumi called these allegations completely false and misleading.

“It is absolutely untrue that I collected money from COCOBOD,” he stated. He spoke to journalists in Accra on May 26 after being granted bail in a separate case involving illegal mining.

Wontumi explained that contractors do not receive advance payments from government agencies. Instead, they must pre-finance their projects. “If you are constructing a road, the government doesn’t give you money upfront—you use your own funds,” he said.

He noted that his company completed its project using internal resources. Like all government contractors, they were eligible for reimbursement only after completing and assessing the work. “The contractor is reimbursed only after the road is completed,” he explained.

Engineers from the Ghana Highways Authority and COCOBOD assess projects based on agreed rates before payment. Wontumi added that contracts specify payment within 28 days of project completion. However, he claimed COCOBOD took nearly three years to fulfill its financial obligation.

“So COCOBOD cannot claim they do not owe me,” he concluded.