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The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party has responded to comments by former President Mahama that the current government has cut supply of free fertilisers to cocoa farmers.

In an interaction with cocoa farmers and the people of Enchi in the Aowin Constituency of the Western North Region, former President Mahama noted that the supply of free fertiliser, seedlings and inputs to cocoa farmers led to an increase in the annual yield of cocoa during his tenure.

He went on to lament that “when we started giving out free fertilisers, it was because we realised it will help improve yield, and in the 2016/17 crop year, we recorded 950,000 tons… I cannot understand why this government will decide to stop that and sell the fertilisers to the farmers… In fact, it is wickedness to leave the fertiliser in warehouses because the farmers cannot and won’t buy them, and throw them away after they expire”.

But Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako noted that under no circumstance should the former President describe the Akufo-Addo led government as wicked. He also cautioned the former President to stop peddling falsehood about the current NPP administration and creating the impression the NPP takes pride in allowing fertilisers to expire just to dispose them.

Judging from Mr. Mahama’s interaction with cocoa farmer, Mr Antwi-Boasiako popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, noted that he could tell that the former President’s “bad habit of telling lies” is rapidly growing and clouding his sense of judgment.

Chairman Wontumi explained that rather than the former President Mahama blaming the current government, he should have used his platform to apologize to cocoa farmers about how his own Constituency Chairman was once arrested for being involved in the issuerance and sale of fake fertilizer coupons.

In 2018, it was reported that a constituency Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress was arrested in connection with a missing $12m worth of fertilizers under the Planting for Food and Jobs.

According to the report, the NDC Chairman was arrested together with some Sunyani Municipal Assembly Staff who are believed to have masterminded the smuggling of the government fertilizers into neighbouring Burkina Faso with the connivance of some Chinese nationals.