Nana Boateng Bonsu, the President of the Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association, has expressed concerns regarding the government’s decision to have the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, oversee the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
His comments come in response to the Finance Minister’s recent announcement that a monitoring desk by his ministry and the Bank of Ghana would be established at COCOBOD to ensure fiscal discipline in its expenditures.
Bonsu questioned Ofori-Atta’s suitability for managing COCOBOD’s financial matters, stating that he believes the Finance Minister has underperformed in his current role.
He expressed skepticism about the Finance Minister’s involvement, suggesting that COCOBOD has been facing significant challenges and is already a troubled institution. He asserted that the Finance Minister’s appointment was unnecessary and questioned what he and his team intended to accomplish.
Bonsu went further to call for the dissolution of COCOBOD, believing that the removal of this state institution responsible for supervising cocoa production and export in Ghana would benefit cocoa farmers.
In summary, Nana Boateng Bonsu is critical of the decision to have the Finance Minister oversee COCOBOD and questions the effectiveness of such a move, suggesting that the institution should be dissolved to benefit cocoa farmers.
