COCOBOD has collapsed, even if all assets are sold, there would still be GH₵3.9bn debt – Dr Otokunor

By
Makay
-
0
13
Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor

Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, the Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness, has said the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has collapsed.

According to Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, even if all assets of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) were sold, the institution would still be left with GH₵3.9 billion in debt.

Dr Otokunor made this known, explaining the rationale behind the slump in cocoa prices to some cocoa farmers.

Speaking to cocoa farmers at Jejeti in the Atiwa East District, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor stated, “If we sell COCOBOD offices, cars, properties, including their hospitals, if all are sold to pay COCOBOD debts, it will not be enough. There will still be GH₵3.9 billion debt. So COCOBOD has collapsed”.

In related news, the Majority Caucus in Parliament has said Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) requires over GH¢30bn in working capital for it to survive.

According to the Majority Caucus, COCOBOD faces a significant liquidity gap.

Speaking at a press briefing on February 19, 2026, Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee and Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, stated, “COCOBOD requires over GH¢30 billion in working capital for it to survive, not the GH¢60 billion left behind. If you look at the accounts, you realise that there is a big hole in there”.

Also, Isaac Adongo has said the former managers of COCOBOD under the previous Akufo-Addo administration must be lined up for cocoa farmers to whip them.

According to Isaac Adongo, the  Ex-COCOBOD managers deserve severe punishment for their mismanagement of Ghana’s cocoa sector.

He accused the Akufo-Addo administration of failing to properly manage the critical logistics of  COCOBOD.

Isaac Adongo added, “When COCOBOD had 286,000 bales of jute sacks at the ports. They cleared only 91,000 and left the rest at the ports. Just a few days before they were leaving office, they contracted someone and paid GHC48 million to bring in 80,000 bales of jute sacks. These are reckless people.

“If it were possible in the days that we were whipping people, these are the people we have to line up and tell cocoa farmers that it is the conduct of these people that denied the government of Ghana the resources to properly take care of you at this point in time.

“So that we will give everybody a cane, and cocoa farmers will whip them. Then we will know who is at fault. But these are the type of people who can sing and dance better than everybody. They think that if you tell the lie many times, it becomes the truth,” he said.

Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has said his government’s decision to reduce the cocoa producer price is difficult but necessary.

Mahama explained that the reduction was aimed at addressing acute liquidity challenges within the cocoa sector.

According to John Mahama, maintaining the previous price would have compelled the government to borrow billions, which he says could have taken the country back into economic difficulties.

Delivering his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament, President Mahama explained, “Mr Speaker, a nation that does not learn from past mistakes cannot get out of the cycle of problems that impose hardship on its citizens.

We have just begun to emerge from the most devastating economic crisis in our nation’s recent history. This crisis was triggered by general financial indiscipline, huge deficits and massive debt occasioned by persistent unbudgeted expenditure to meet the ends of convenient politicking.

In the last few weeks, we have had to take the painful but necessary decision to revise the producer price of Cocoa to achieve competitive pricing and resolve acute liquidity challenges in the sector. Failure to do so would have meant pumping in billions of borrowed funds”.

He added, “This unplanned expenditure would have taken us right back to the very devastating economic problems we have only recently begun to escape.

So, while fully understanding the concerns and protests of our farmers, I can firmly assure them that the reforms announced by the government will see a total transformation of the sector and guarantee them a fair price that enables them to meet the cost of producing the commodity and make decent margins.

The difference between economic hardships and avoiding the same is the exercise of sound economic judgement, and I am determined to take decisions that ensure our collective wellbeing and avoid suffering for all our citizens.”

Watch the video below: