The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asunafo South, Eric Opoku, has criticised the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, for deceiving Ghanaians.
This follows the Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, contradicting COCOBOD’s self-financing claims for the upcoming 2024/2025 crop season.
During the monthly economic updates in Accra on Thursday, Dr Adam clarified that the government will seek external funding to support the cocoa sector, contrary to COCOBOD’s earlier statements.
The minority in parliament had earlier criticised COCOBOD over its decision to transition to self-financing for the 2024/2025 cocoa crop season, starting in September 2024.
In a statement dated Wednesday, August 21, Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson argued that COCOBOD lacks creditworthiness and described its decision as “false, unmeritorious, contrived, and face-saving.”
Speaking in an interview with Nana Tuffuor Boateng on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Thursday, Mr Opoku noted that the COCOBOD CEO only had to be candid with Ghanaians and not lie to them.
“We are in a difficult situation, and we wanted the Chief Executive to be candid to the good people of Ghana, but he was economical with the truth. The actual truth is that Ghana is now sourcing funding from the international market.”
“We are now pursuing the syndicated facility; we are still in negotiations with the lenders. We have never taken that bold decision to stop that activity. We are pursuing it vigorously. So, the Chief Executive shouldn’t have been economical with the truth. He shouldn’t have lied to the good people of Ghana,” he stated.
