Ghana’s Cocoa Industry On The Verge of Collapse – The Minority Speaks Up
The minority in Ghana’s Parliament has come to the defense of former President John Mahama regarding his claims about the state of the country’s cocoa sector. Mahama has alleged that the sector is on the verge of collapse due to the mismanagement by the government. He said that the government’s failure to adjust the producer…
The minority in Ghana’s Parliament has come to the defense of former President John Mahama regarding his claims about the state of the country’s cocoa sector. Mahama has alleged that the sector is on the verge of collapse due to the mismanagement by the government. He said that the government’s failure to adjust the producer price of cocoa annually has delayed payment to farmers for cocoa beans and combined with other factors to destroy the sector.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has refuted Mahama’s claims and described them as misleading and detrimental to the cocoa sector, which is the foundation of Ghana’s economy. However, the minority has accused COCOBOD of peddling falsehoods and seeking refuge in lies to cover up the havoc they have wrecked on the cocoa sector.
The minority has also accused President Akufo-Addo’s government of worsening COCOBOD’s plight from the state it met it. They claim that in 2017, the NDC handed over a prosperous and thriving cocoa industry with buffers in the cocoa stabilization fund, farmers’ welfare fund, depreciation fund, farmers’ housing fund, and GHâµ29 million set aside for the rolling out of the cocoa farmers pension scheme envisaged under the P.N.D.C.L 81.
The Akufo-Addo’s government has dissipated all these buffers within 6 years, leaving nothing for the industry to lean on in times of difficulties. COCOBOD has been incurring losses since Nana Addo assumed office, and the minority is calling on them to explain why the cocoa industry cannot be profitable under the Nana Addo/Bawumia government.
For the most part, the minority has touted the NDC’s records in the cocoa sector, saying that during the entire four-year period of President John Mahama, the producer price of cocoa was increased by 124.1 per cent, contrasted with 68.4 per cent in the last six years under Nana Addo. They also noted that the highest jump in producer price in the last two decades happened under John Mahama in the 2014/15 season.
In conclusion, the minority in Parliament has accused the Akufo-Addo’s government of worsening the state of Ghana’s cocoa sector. They have pointed out the disbursement of buffers under the NDC, which has left the industry with nothing to lean on in times of difficulties. While COCOBOD has refuted the claims, the minority has accused them of peddling falsehoods and seeking refuge in lies to cover up their mismanagement of the cocoa sector.
Source: myjoy Online.
