The legitimacy of a fertiliser test report by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), which forms a key element of the prosecution’s case against former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni, and two others, has been dismissed by a research scientist.
Dr. Opuni, businessman Seidu Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Ltd face charges of causing financial loss of more than GH¢271 million to the state in fertiliser transactions during Dr. Opuni’s tenure as CEO. They have all pleaded not guilty.
Testifying in court as the ninth witness for Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Ltd, Dr. Samuel Akoto Bamford, a Principal Research Scientist at the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, Atomic Energy Ghana, described the GSA report prepared by Senior Standards Officer Quartey-Papafio as both inaccurate and unreliable.
Commenting on the analytical techniques used in the report, Dr. Akoto Bamford noted they were “unclear and ambiguous.”
“The report presented only three parameters: calcium, magnesium, and urea. These are insufficient and incomplete for any fertiliser analysis,” he told the court.
Addressing the report’s conclusions, Dr. Akoto Bamford added, “The Quartey-Papafio report has no scientific grounding. Materials science is based on prescribed standards and methods for analysing fertilisers, as outlined in the Ghana Fertiliser Analytical Manual, which complies with the Plant and Fertiliser Act (Act 803).
“From my evaluation, the Quartey-Papafio report cannot, in my opinion, be used as a basis for disqualifying any product as fertiliser.”
The case has been adjourned to January 21 for the continuation of the hearing.
