The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has accused the Ghana Cocoa Board of prioritising excessive expenditures at its headquarters in Accra over investments in cocoa farmers.
Speaking on Sunrise FM at the end of his five-day tour of the Eastern region, John Dramani Mahama questioned COCOBOD’s management financial decisions, especially in the face of declining cocoa production.
He noted that cocoa production had dropped to 555,000 tonnes over the past four years, while COCOBOD’s headquarters expenditure shot up to approximately GH¢3.4 billion in 2023.
“The cocoa farmers have been struggling for a long time, and yet COCOBOD finds it appropriate to spend huge sums of money at its headquarters. This is unacceptable.
“Over the past four years, cocoa production has dropped to 555,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, COCOBOD headquarters’ expenditure has ballooned to an alarming GH¢3.4 billion in 2023.
“How does this benefit our hard-working cocoa farmers? They are rather spending it on cars and undeserving salaries. So we have said that we will do better with the management of the cocoa sector.”
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