TESCON President at the University of Education, Winneba, Emmanuel Osei, has said that Tertiary students are struggling to pay fees due to cocoa farmers’ payment delays.
The University of Education, Winneba TESCON President made this known to the Minority leadership.
According to him, tertiary students are struggling to pay their fees due to delays in payments to cocoa farmers, most of whom are their parents.
Speaking during a press conference, Emmanuel Osei stated, “Leader most of us, our parents are farmers, they depend on this to pay our fees. As you speak now, when you go to our campuses, most of our people are struggling with school fees.
It is not affecting NDC nor NPP; it is affecting the entire people. It means that this haircut is not just affecting our fathers and parents and their houses; it is affecting the students”.
Also, the TESCON President stressed that the NDC government promised automatic posting for nuses but they have yet to see any posting.
“Leadership, we have our colleagues from the Nursing college here. They promised them automatic posting, but we have not seen anything”, he added.
Some Ghanaians reacting to the TESCON President’s claims stated, “He has been paid by the NPP bigwigs in the central region to voice out this trivial comment. The minority leader, Afenyo Markin, is one of the political tags influencing this young Tescon leader to run these comments on the national front in order to tarnish the image of NDC”.
One X user added, “We can understand you people because almost all cocoa farmers are from a particular region. Please don’t make it look as if this particular crisis is the only problem we have in Ghana.. He is doing the deeds of his party. Is not his fault”.
“This is the handiwork of the NPP period. They’re trying to manipulate the people’s minds, tarnishing the name of the government. These guys need to be arrested for at least one year in prison, and the rest will stop this fooling. Gyiimie fuo NPP. They’ll never see anything good at all”, one more Ghanaian added.
A netizen added, “In 2023, the then government was unable to pay these farmers for almost 9 months, and none of them, in fact, most Ghanaians didn’t even hear about this except for those who were closer to the issue, but we didn’t hear this drama oo”.
In related news, the CEO of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Randy Abbey, in a press statement, has announced that the Executive Management and Senior Staff will take a pay cut following the challenges within the cocoa sector.
According to the press release, the pay cuts take immediate effect and will remain in place for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop year.
The press release detailed that Executive Management will take a 20 per cent reduction in salaries, while Senior Staff will also be hit with a 10 per cent cut.
The pay cuts are seen as a broader cost-containment measure to align with revenue.
Also, the CEO statement indicated that additional steps, including procurement reforms and a staff rationalisation exercise, were to be taken to stabilise COCOBOD finances.
In a press release dated Monday, February 16, 2026, COCOBOD announced that the pay cuts, which read, “The Executive Management and the Senior Staff of COCOBOD have effective today. Monday, February 16, 2026, reduced their salaries for the remainder of the 2025/26 crop year in recognition of the current liquidity challenges in the cocoa industry.
The Executive Management has taken a twenty (20) per cent cut, while the Senior Staff have taken a ten (10) per cent reduction in their respective salaries.
This decision and other cost-cutting measures in procurement and a staff rationalisation exercise are aimed at reducing the overall expenditure of COCOBOD and aligning costs with revenue”.
The announcement comes on the heels of heightened strain in the cocoa industry, with some key persons questioning COCBOD’s commitments.
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TESCON President at the University of Education, Winneba, Emmanuel Osei, has told the Minority leadership that many tertiary students are struggling to pay their fees due to delays in payments to cocoa farmers, most of whom are their parents.#3NewsGH #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/FgQ7g7INqV
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) February 16, 2026