Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Food and Agriculture Committee, Dr. Seidu Jasaw, has raised alarm over COCOBOD‘s financial health, revealing that the organization faced significant challenges in repaying its 2023 syndicated loan.
Speaking on the matter, the Wa East MP warned that these financial difficulties are a reflection of deeper systemic issues within the institution, potentially endangering the future of Ghana’s cocoa industry.
Dr. Jasaw attributed COCOBOD’s repayment struggles to mismanagement and inefficient resource allocation under the current administration.
He expressed concern that the organization’s financial instability could worsen if these issues were not addressed promptly.
His comments came in response to a recent announcement by COCOBOD’s CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, who stated that for the first time in over three decades, COCOBOD would not seek offshore syndicated loans to finance the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2024/2025 crop season. Aidoo claimed that the organization would self-finance its operations, aiming to procure around 650,000 metric tonnes of cocoa.
However, Dr. Jasaw questioned the CEO’s narrative, suggesting that the real reason COCOBOD is not pursuing external loans is that the international market has lost confidence in the organization due to its recent struggles with loan repayments.
“The syndicated banks refused them the loan because COCOBOD’s financial position is not good at all,” Dr. Jasaw said. “They also have concerns about production. COCOBOD struggled in paying back last year’s syndicated loan, and the Ministry of Finance had to step in with about $70 million in July to assist with the repayment.”
He emphasized that COCOBOD’s financial strains are more serious than the leadership is willing to admit, accusing the organization of masking its financial troubles as a deliberate policy shift to reduce reliance on international loans.
“This is a dire situation. I expected COCOBOD to be forthcoming with the information so that Ghanaians could scrutinize it. But when you try to spin it as a deliberate policy shift when it is really about your inability to solve a crisis, I think that is disingenuous, and Ghanaians shouldn’t be taken for granted,” Dr. Jasaw said.
His warning serves as a call for greater transparency within COCOBOD and immediate reforms to address the underlying financial mismanagement threatening one of Ghana’s most critical industries.