Minority criticizes COCOBOD’s response to Mahama’s remarks regarding the cocoa industry

Eric Opoku, the ranking member of the parliamentary Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs Committee, has criticized the Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) administration for its response to former president John Dramani Mahama’s remarks on the cocoa industry.

He characterized COCOBOD’s statement as a fabrication meant to cover up the Akufo-Addo administration’s appalling performance.

According to former president John Dramani Mahama, the Akufo-Addo administration is mismanaging the nation’s cocoa industry, which is threatening to collapse.

However, COCOBOD denied the claims, claiming they were false and harmful to a crucial industry like cocoa, in a statement on April 27.

Eric Opoku responded to COCOBOD’s claim by saying, “It is an unavoidable truth and COCOBOD’s reaction is nothing but a deception designed to cover up the poor performance of the Nana Addo/Bawumia regime. We assert that COCOBOD under the Nana Addo/Bawumia administration is a whitewashed tomb, beautiful on the exterior but filled with rot and decay inside. John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s former president, has always been open and honest with his fellow citizens. His criticism of the cocoa industry was fair and unvarnished.

The specifics of Eric Opoku’s remark are listed below:

Writer Eric Opoku (Hon.)

RE: COCOA SECTOR AKUFO ADDO COLLAPSED

The minority in Parliament has seen with shock COCOBOD’s response to the true remark made by former President John Mahama regarding the demise of Ghana’s cocoa sector.

It is an unquestionable fact, and COCOBOD’s response is nothing more than a fabrication meant to hide the Nana Addo/Bawumia government’s appalling performance. We assert that COCOBOD under the Nana Addo/Bawumia administration is a whitewashed tomb, beautiful on the exterior but filled with rot and decay inside.

The cocoa industry was handed over by the NDC in 2017 in a prosperous and thriving state, with reserves in the cocoa stabilization fund, farmers’ welfare fund, depreciation fund, farmers’ housing fund, and other funds, including GH29 million set aside for the implementation of the cocoa farmers pension plan envisioned under the P.N.D.C.L. 81.

Surprisingly, the Nana Addo government destroyed all of these safety nets in less than six years, leaving the sector with nothing to rely on should things get tough. Again, since Nana Addo took office, the Board has been losing money. COCOBOD has yet to explain why the Nana Addo/Bawumia administration prevents the cocoa sector from being lucrative. According to records that are currently available,
Year Losses in Million GHS
2017 395.0 2018 78.2 2019 320.6 2020 426.0

Reports from the Auditor General from 2018 to 2021.

A deficit of GH1.6 billion was noted in 2021. Prior to the 2022–2023 cocoa syndicated facility’s approval, this was communicated to Parliament. This deplorable and terrible performance is unique in Ghana’s cocoa history.
As a result, the cocoa sector is severely dehydrated and is weakly gasping for air. Is the market not going under?

Ghana produced 683,000 tons of cocoa in 2021–2022, the least amount in the previous 15 years. Out of this, 640,000 tons were used as collateral for the syndicated loan, and 30,000 tons were used to pay the Chinese loan that was contracted for the Bui Dam’s construction. There were only 13,000 tons available to provide the 400,000 tons installed and 285,000 tons reliable capacity of the cocoa processing industry. Since the importation of cocoa beans is so crucial to the survival of the cocoa processing industry, it is also suffering.

Reduced cocoa incomes result from declining cocoa yield, which eventually lowers the standard of living for our devoted cocoa farmers.

The six-month cocoa bill with a face value of GH940.42 million matured on January 19, 2023, but Bank of Ghana declared default, explaining that despite following the customary procedures to reissue on behalf of COCOBOD in order to raise money to cover the maturing obligations, the auction sadly failed and was “severely undersubscribed resulting in a shortfall of GH855.42 million.” This shows a definite loss of investor trust in COCOBOD as it represents 90.96% under subscription. Again, the history of cocoa in Ghana is unaware of this unenviable achievement by the Nana Addo/Bawumia government.

Along with the aforementioned, it is an undeniable fact that the Ashanti, Eastern, and Western Regions account for close to 90% of Ghana’s total cocoa production. According to COCOBOD, 81 percent of cocoa farmlands in the Eastern area, 74 percent in the Western region, and 68 percent in the Ashanti region have been impacted by unlawful mining and the unchecked use of mercury and other chemicals to extract gold (galamsey). Is this insufficient evidence to declare the sector collapsed?

The President of the Republic of Ghana has a duty under Article 257 of the 1992 Constitution to safeguard all mineral resources found within Ghana’s borders for the benefit of the Ghanaian people. In light of this, the President was able to get parliamentary approval in 2019 to spend an astounding GH $30 million on the fight against the galamsey threat. Is the President exempt from responsibility for the effects of galamsey?

Regarding the cocoa producer price, there was an overall increase of 62.7 percent in the producer price over the first three years of the previous President John Mahama’s administration, from the 2012/13 to the 2014/15 harvest seasons (from GH212 in 2012/13 to GH345 in 2014/15). Comparatively, over the same period under Nana Addo (2017–2018–2019–2020), there was an overall increase of 38.94% (from GH475 in 2017–2018–2019–2020 to GH660 in 2019–2020). The first time in Ghana’s history that saw three seasons with no producer price increases was during Nana Akufo Addo’s administration in 2019–20, 2020–21, and 202–22. The producer fee for these three seasons was GHC 660.

Again, the producer price of cocoa increased by 124.1 percent over the course of President John Mahama’s entire four-year term (from GH 212 in 2013–14 to GH 475 in 2016–17), as opposed to 68.4 percent over the course of Nana Addo’s final six years (from GH 475 in 2017–18 to GH 800 in 2022–23).
It should be mentioned that under John Mahama, producer prices increased by the biggest amount in the last 20 years during the 2014-15 season (from GH212 to GH345 – a 62.7% increase).

Ghana COCOBOD must be aware that they cannot hide behind fabrications to hide the destruction they have wreaked on the cocoa industry, the indescribable suffering they have inflicted on Ghanaian cocoa farmers, and the blatant incompetence, poor management, carelessness, and insensitivity displayed thus far.

John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s former president, has always been open and honest with his fellow citizens. He was honest and upfront in his remarks on the chocolate industry.

Ranking Member of the Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs Committee is Eric Opoku