COCOBOD directors inaugurated

President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged the Board of Directors of Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), to help restore the country's pride as a vibrant cocoa growing country.  According to him, the Board had been carefully chosen, and he was confident it would deliver to meet expectations.

The President made these assertions yesterday, at the Flagstaff House, when he swore in the Board of Directors of the COCOBOD. He reaffirmed government’s commitment to raise the country’s cocoa production, while charging the Board to work to ensure that.

In addition, he said, his government would work to raise the production level of cocoa to about 1 million tonnes. The President further indicated that efforts would be made to process more than 50 per cent of the cocoa beans produced locally, and find new markets to improve the country's standing in the cocoa value chain.

President Akufo-Addo expressed government's determination to make the cocoa industry lucrative. He said cocoa had been the mainstay of the country for over a century, and it still contributes a quarter of the country's export earnings.

He noted that towns like Suhum, Nsawam, Dodowa, among others, were built on the back of the wealth of cocoa.

However, he said, cocoa productivity had dwindled over the years due to the activities of illegal miners, price volatility on the world market, and allegation of corruption at Cocobod.

“The sector has been washed with stories which are being investigated. If these stories are true, measures will be put in place to ensure that they never occur again,” he said.

The President said the Board would be supervised by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Afriyie Akoto, a passionate advocate for the cocoa industry. “From where I am standing, I have put together a winning team, and I am hoping that your performance will show that my judgment was right,” he said

According to him, the Chairman had considerable experience from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and indicated that other members on the Board had been carefully chosen, because they had the qualities to help revive the industry.

“It is an onerous task; a task I am confident the calibre of men and women who are now on the Board are going to be able to discharge. The Ghanaian people are looking at you. They want to see a new leaf turned in the manner in which our cocoa industry has been managed,” he said.

The Board will be chaired by Hackman Owusu Agyemang, a former minister of state under the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

Speaking on behalf of the Board, Mr. Agyemang said the team would work hard to revive the cocoa industry and achieve the government’s production target of one million tones.

Other members on the board are Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO, Nana Adwoa Dokua, Nana Johnson Mensah, Nana Obeng Akrofi, Peter Atta Boakye, Charles Aduboahen, and Carlos Ahenkora.

By Maxwell Ofori, Flagstaff House