A legal and industrial battle has hit the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) PLC, as seven employees currently under interdiction have come forward to vehemently deny responsibility for a staggering financial discrepancy of GH¢4,373,355.04.

The shortfall was highlighted in a recent Ghana Audit Service report spanning the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 financial years. The audit specifically flagged irregularities concerning chocolate products supplied to the CPC Consumer Cooperative Shop, an internal outlet managed by staff unions for the benefit of the company’s workforce.

However, the affected workers claim they have been made scapegoats in a flawed administrative process that lacks evidential backing.

The core of the workers’ grievance lies in the methodology of the audit. Theodore Matey Tackey, Vice Chairman of the CPC Consumer Cooperative Shop and one of the seven interdicted individuals, told Citi FM that the audit team failed to follow basic fair-hearing protocols.

“The Ghana Audit Service never asked us any questions. No one called us to explain how the GH¢4.3 million debt came about. The only communication we received was from the Managing Director, and we responded to indicate that we do not owe the company,” Mr Tackey stated.

He further alleged that the interdiction was a knee-jerk reaction by management, based on a misinterpretation of figures that were never reconciled with the co-operative's internal ledgers.

The workers have produced what they describe as "evidence of innocence"—a reconciliation document reportedly signed by the company’s former Director of Administration. According to the staff, this document confirms that the cooperative shop’s accounts were in order before the current management’s intervention.

“There is a reconciliation document that has been signed by the former Director of Administration, and we have also signed our part. According to our books, we do not owe,” Mr Tackey maintained, adding that the shop only procured the products at the explicit request of management.

The interdicted staff are now calling for an open, multi-party reconciliation process to clear their names and restore their livelihoods. They argue that their suspension is not only unjust but also a violation of established industrial relations procedures, given that they were operating within the governance framework of the cooperative.

“Our call is that everyone should come together and go through the reconciliation. That will determine whether people have misappropriated funds or not. Secondly, those who have been interdicted should be reinstated,” the Vice Chairman urged.

The standoff at the Tema-based cocoa giant raises significant questions about the internal controls governing staff cooperatives and the communication bridge between the Ghana Audit Service and state-owned enterprises.

As the ₵4.3 million remains unaccounted for on paper, the seven employees remain in professional limbo, insisting that a simple look at the books, with all parties present, would solve the mystery and expose the "unfair" nature of their suspension.