The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has blamed the current crisis in Ghana’s cocoa sector on what he described as financial mismanagement under the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
Speaking to party supporters and traditional leaders in the Upper Denkyira West Constituency of the Central Region as part of his “Thank You” tour, Asiedu Nketiah alleged that the previous government mishandled a major cocoa financing deal meant to support the 2023/2024 crop season.
According to him, the former administration secured a loan to purchase 800,000 tonnes of cocoa, but ended up buying only a little over 400,000 tonnes, despite allegedly utilising the full loan amount.
“When it was time for the government to pay the loan they took for the cocoa, they did not get the quantity that was required to pay the banks. They later pleaded for the loan payment to be rescheduled to 2025,” he stated.
Asiedu Nketiah further accused the former government of raising additional funds through cocoa bonds issued to domestic banks but failing to meet repayment obligations.
“They used the same cocoa bond to collect lots of money from the domestic banks. As a result of the haircut, the same government later said they could not pay the banks. So, when we took over, after our audit, we realised that this was the mess left behind,” he alleged.
He also claimed that other procurement practices worsened the situation, including the importation of large quantities of jute sacks used for cocoa packaging.
“As if that is not enough, the sacks for packing cocoa were imported. They used that as a medium to make money and awarded contracts to their members. When we came in, we realised they had imported so many sacks that we can go for 10 years without importing any more,” he said.
He added that COCOBOD currently has several sacks at the port which, according to him, have not been cleared.
“As I speak to you, COCOBOD has lots of sacks at the port that cannot be cleared,” he noted.
Despite these challenges, Asiedu Nketiah assured that the NDC government is implementing pragmatic interventions aimed at stabilising the cocoa sector and restoring confidence in cocoa financing.
Chief Appeals for Resumption of Ayanfuri–Dunkwa Road Project
Meanwhile, the Nifahene of New Obuasi, Nana Kofi Arkoh, appealed to the NDC National Chairman to draw the government’s attention to the stalled Ayanfuri–Dunkwa road project.
According to the chief, work on the road and several other development projects in the constituency came to a halt after the exit of the Mahama-led administration.
Describing Asiedu Nketiah as a man of integrity and commitment, Nana Kofi Arkoh urged him to ensure that construction resumes to reduce the burden on residents and improve transportation in the area.
Story: Nyamebeye Kofi Ansah Sasraku