Speaking on JoyFM midday news, Vice Chairman of the workers’ union, Seth Adusei, warned that the union would organise demonstrations if their demands for salary payments were not met immediately.

“PBC as an institution, we have a staff quantum of about 33,000, district staff and then when you go to BCs the commission staff and then go to their various farmers and their families. I can assure you something of this nature happened when the former Chief Executive Officer was at post.

“The year 2016 he delayed our funding, and the farmers took offense of it, they were punished severely. A word to the wise is enough. If Mr President does not take cue of this issue that we are talking and we allow things to just play because people would be singing certain songs to him that things are working.

“Trust me the people of Ghana and the staff of PBC would disappoint you. Not that we hate him but we will not sit down while others are enjoying. The resources of this country are for all of us. I have seen the vice president go round making all sorts of promises claiming that he would be doing this and that. The route to his success is just right close to him.”

Mr Adusei demanded an urgent investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) into allegations of mismanagement of funds from the Sample Residue Fund, which was established to defray debts.

He stated that that millions of cedis have been misappropriated from the fund, depriving the employees of essential support and further fuelling their frustrations.

“As a company we always work and put certain cocoa down in case of any emergency, we use some of this money to defray.it Over a period of time, we have named this particular thing as a sample residue. This sample reside when you combine it from the period of 2016-2017; 2017–2018, this money could also have been used to clear some of this stock of 5,471 stock.

“It is a figure that we want management to come and account for. In our financial statement, we have not seen any provision made for the sample residue. Who is holding the sample residue? Which account does the sample residue fall into? We are again asking EOCO to come and investigate the sample residue quantum of the money that management is still holding,” he noted.

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This was disclosed by Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Produce Buying Company, Alfred Ofori-Anne, in an interview with Adom News.

According to him, the pension scheme when fully developed by the government, will help address the financial needs of aged cocoa farmers.

Mr Ofori-Anne asserted that the policy by the government is aimed at finding a lasting solution and checking the normal trend of cocoa farmers becoming poor when old and no longer able to farm.

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Reacting to the scheme, which the government intends to implement for them, some cocoa farmers, who spoke to Adom News, expressed delight about the government’s intention to put up a pension scheme for them.

According to them, the scheme, when set up, will help prevent poverty.

The scheme comes on the back of increased cocoa prices said to take effect from October 1, 2020, the beginning of the harvesting season.

Government, through the COCOBOD, has also promised to purchase some 900,000 metric tonnes of cocoa from cocoa farmers in this harvest season.