Ghana’s cocoa sector is at a breaking point.
The crisis confronting our nation today is not the localised failure of a single administration; it is the bitter harvest of decades of institutional weakness, unchecked expenditure, and a stubborn adherence to outdated colonial economic policies.
At a time when many sought to sanitise the rot, the country required brutal honesty.
That honesty came from the apex of the institution itself: Dr Randy Abbey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
By laying bare the accumulated debts and systemic inefficiencies, Dr Abbey performed an act of national service that finally triggered a coordinated government response.
The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) applauds the transparency, but transparency without accountability is merely a post-mortem of a crime.
A sector collapsed under weight of debt.
The numbers tell a tragic story of fiscal indiscipline:
* GH¢32.9 billion in total debt and GH¢3.8 billion in negative equity.
* GH¢26 billion in cocoa roads liabilities.
* Over $48 million (GH¢530m+) wasted on jute sack imports over five years.
These are not “NPP numbers” or “NDC numbers.”
These are Ghana’s numbers, and the crisis belongs to every citizen.
The human cost: the Ghanaian farmer
Behind these spreadsheets are warm-blooded lives.
With over GH¢11 billion owed to farmers and GH¢2.04 billion to Licensed Buying Companies, rural heartlands are in distress.
When the farmer suffers, the nation’s heartbeat slows.
This is why the PPP insists that any reform must be people-centred, not just bureaucratically convenient.
Internal discipline: Pay cuts right move
We acknowledge that the COCOBOD Board’s recommendation for immediate pay cuts — a 20 per cent reduction for Executive Management and 10 per cent for Senior Staff — is a rational, responsible and timely decision.
For an institution, this indebtedness cannot continue with business-as-usual remuneration.
However, the PPP insists that these cuts must be management-led.
No wage expansions or non-performance bonuses should be entertained until every farmer is paid in full.
Justice Delayed: The Attorney General’s “Turtle” Pace
While we commend the transparency shown by current leadership, Ghanaians are looking for those responsible for this mess to be brought to book.
We have heard of gross malfeasance — inflated contracts, missing jute sacks, and diverted funds — yet the pace of the Attorney-General (AG) in this regard has been “turtle-like.”
This slow-walking of justice does not lend credence to the claim that the government is serious about cleaning up the sector.
If the AG does not move with urgency to prosecute those who facilitated this GH¢32 billion rot, the public will rightly conclude that the “stabilisation plan” is simply a cover for past sins.
Accountability must not be a slogan; it must be a courtroom reality.
The PPP National Reform Blueprint
To move beyond stabilisation, the PPP proposes:
* Total Transparency: Publish every contract and beneficiary of cocoa funds to date.
* Expedited Prosecution: A dedicated legal task force to fast-track COCOBOD-related cases.
* Strict Mandate Focus: Ending “mandate drift” into non-core expenditure such as roads.
* Aggressive Industrialisation: Moving toward 100 per cent local processing to break the raw-export cycle.
* Farmer Representation: Growers must have a permanent seat at the decision-making table.
Conclusion: Transformation over stagnation
The PPP is not here to defend the NPP or the NDC.
We are here to defend the Ghanaian farmer. Dr Randy Abbey told the truth.
The Board has acted on pay cuts.
Now, the A-G must act on justice.
The numbers have exposed our reality; now, our courage must offer the remedy.
The time to act is now.
The writer is the National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP). Email:
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh