Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has signalled fresh legislative reforms for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), as government moves to restructure the cocoa sector, strengthen financial sustainability and accelerate local value addition.
The planned reforms come at a time when the International Monetary Fund has intensified calls for structural changes at COCOBOD to reduce operational costs, improve efficiency, and restore long-term financial stability within the sector.
Speaking at the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable, Dr. Forson asserted that the government is pursuing reforms to reposition COCOBOD rather than dismantle the institution.
“Cocoa board needs reforms. I do not believe in scrapping it, but I believe that we need to reform the cocoa board.”
According to him, despite its longstanding role as a major foreign exchange earner for Ghana, COCOBOD has suffered governance and operational setbacks that now require structural intervention.
“Cocoa board has served Ghana well. It has been a major source of foreign exchange. It has obviously suffered some mismanagement. It’s a fact that we need to recognise.”
The Finance Minister disclosed that government will in the coming weeks lay before Parliament a new bill aimed at reforming the structure and operations of COCOBOD.
“Government has taken a decision to reform cocoa board. I’ll be going to Parliament in the next few weeks to introduce a new bill to Parliament reforming cocoa board and changing the structure of cocoa board.”
The proposed reforms are expected to deepen ongoing efforts to overhaul the cocoa financing framework, improve operational efficiency and strengthen value addition across the sector.
Already, the IMF has backed Ghana’s cocoa sector stabilisation measures and called for decisive implementation of COCOBOD’s turnaround strategy, including reforms to strengthen financial oversight and reduce quasi-fiscal activities.
Dr. Forson further indicated that government intends to significantly increase domestic cocoa processing as part of a broader industrialisation agenda.
“For example, the bill was set to make sure that at least 50% of our raw cocoa is processed locally.”
He noted that Ghana can no longer sustain a model centred largely on exporting raw cocoa beans without capturing higher value within the supply chain.
“We’ve been shipping out our cocoa for too long and so we want to stop that.”