Bernard Antwi Boasiako, known as Chairman Wontumi and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has firmly rejected claims that he received a GH₵50 million payment from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) during the closing days of the Akufo-Addo administration.
Reports in the media recently suggested that Wontumi’s firm, Hallmark Engineering, was paid a large sum by COCOBOD despite an order from the then-incoming Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, to halt contract payments during the transition phase.
Wontumi, however, dismissed these allegations as entirely false and misleading.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Monday, May 26, shortly after being granted bail in an unrelated illegal mining case, Wontumi clarified that contractors do not receive upfront payments from government bodies; they must initially finance their projects themselves.
He said, “When constructing a road, the government doesn’t provide money in advance—you use your own funds.”
Wontumi added that his company completed the project with its own resources and, like any government contractor, was entitled only to reimbursement after the work was finished and officially evaluated.
“The contractor is reimbursed only after the road is completed,” he stated. “At that stage, engineers from the Ghana Highways Authority and COCOBOD assess the work and determine its value based on agreed terms.”
He further revealed that the contract stipulated payment within 28 days after completion, but COCOBOD delayed payment for nearly three years.
“So, COCOBOD cannot claim that they do not owe me,” Wontumi concluded.
