Attorney-General Alleges Chairman Wontumi Pressured EXIM Bank to Release Funds for Nonexistent Farm Workers

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has made a startling revelation implicating Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, in a suspected financial misconduct involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank).

According to the Attorney-General, Chairman Wontumi allegedly influenced EXIM Bank to release funds that were meant for farm workers under the government’s Mining Alternative Livelihoods Initiative a program aimed at providing alternative income sources for those affected by the crackdown on illegal mining (galamsey).

However, investigations have revealed that the supposed beneficiaries of the funds, farmhands purportedly employed by Wontumi Farms Limited, did not exist.

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At a press briefing held in Accra on December 22, the Attorney-General disclosed that Wontumi Farms Limited was required to submit a comprehensive database of workers to facilitate electronic salary payments.

This was a prerequisite for disbursement under the structured payment system of the initiative. However, upon scrutiny, the database presented was found to be fictitious, raising serious concerns of fraudulent activity and potential misuse of public funds.

The case is under further investigation, and the development has sparked public interest given Wontumi’s high political profile as the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

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The Attorney-General’s office is expected to take necessary legal steps should the evidence support a prosecution.

The issue has also renewed calls for greater transparency and accountability in the disbursement of state funds through development initiatives.