PBC blames past NPP administration for current financial collapse
The Produce Buying Company (PBC), has blamed its current financial crisis on what it describes as failed leadership under the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration that brought the company to its knees
It however pledged an “operational comeback” under its new management.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, February 18, PBC management compared the company’s performance under different administrations, explaining that the company has dropped dramatically from being a market leader to what they described as “a company on its knees.”
“PBC from the beginning had not been shrouded with debts. PBC one time had been the number one LBC [Licensed Buying Company] in Ghana and had been number one on the Ghana Club 100. That was due to good and prudent leadership management, not only the executive management but the policy think tanks, the leadership of the country at that time made sure that they supervise the executive management to deliver that,” Managing Director of PBC, Alhaji Seidu Yonye said.
The Managing Director noted that between 2012 and 2016, the company had a 30.8% domestic market and maintained a good level of profitability all attributed to good leadership
“Let’s look at 2016 down the line to 2024. What has been the story of PBC? PBC today cannot even boast of a single market share. We don’t have any market share. That means PBC is on its knees,” Alhaji Yonye declared. “PBC today cannot show audited accounts. Until we came, we struggled to make sure that we had audited accounts from 2022 to date. And this shows the level of leadership from 2016 to 2024; this shows the political will for state-owned enterprises.”
“2012 to 2016 was good leadership and that made PBC profitable, and it was evident with a market share of 30.8%, with good audited accounts which are verifiable. 2016 to 2024 was a period of bad leadership by the NPP administration and that has brought PBC to a comatose level without audited accounts and no market share. These are the realities.” He added
Alhaji Yonye called for what he described as “intellectual honesty” in public conversations surrounding state-owned enterprises, noting that periods of bad management under all political administrations must be highlighted to protect companies from the “2016-2024 leadership mess.”
“So, if we want to help the system, we want to help Ghanaians, at least we those who feel we know much, we the intellectuals talking to these matters should not assume a sycophantic position. Let’s mention and mention the names so that people in power today, people in leadership today will be guarded.”
The PBC’s troubles come amid broader challenges facing the domestic cocoa sector, with debts exceeding GHC600 million and independent auditors warning of a “complete bankruptcy” and “technical insolvency” last month.
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