Murtala Mohammed demands COCOBOD CEO Boahen Aidoo’s resignation over declining cocoa production

Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, has called for the resignation of Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

Mohammed criticized Aidoo for his alleged inability to address the decline in cocoa production and for falling short of the projected targets.

During a session with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Accra on Tuesday, Boahen Aidoo attributed the challenges to factors like smuggling and illegal mining (galamsey).

However, despite these explanations, Mohammed asserted that Aidoo’s failure to resolve the issues should prompt his resignation.

Meanwhile, Mr Aidoo has linked the organization's GH¢2 billion loss in 2021 to the decline in the international market price of cocoa.

He noted that the price of cocoa on the global market has experienced a significant drop of over 30 per cent in recent years, contributing to the substantial loss incurred.

He assured that plans are well underway to address the challenges posed by the declining cocoa prices and implement strategies to mitigate further losses.

“Chairman we are on the path of a turnaround. COCOBOD's financial situation is dictated by the international market Price, that's the world cocoa price, and we all know that from 2017 to the date in question, the price of cocoa in the world market has collapsed by 30%. And in 2020 that is also when we had our highest production.

“So when prices collapsed at the time when we had increased yield. That is the direct cost and inventory go up whereas the revenue generated goes down.

“That is what explains the huge deficit for the particular year. Essentially yes we had record production, the prices at the international market did not favour us,” he stated.

-citinewsroom