President inaugurates Board of COCOBOD
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government is committed to raising the country's cocoa production to one million tonnes and also ensuring that 50 per cent of the beans is processed locally.
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He said the government would also find new markets to improve the country’s standing in the cocoa value chain.
Inaugurating the Board of Directors of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo expressed the government’s determination to make the cocoa industry lucrative.
He said cocoa had been the backbone of the economy for over a century and still contributed a quarter of Ghana’s export earnings.
He said towns such as Suhum, Nsawam and Dodowa were built on the back of the wealth from cocoa.
It was regrettable, he observed, that over the years, cocoa productivity had dwindled due to the activities of illegal miners, price volatility on the world market and allegations of corruption at COCOBOD.
“The sector has been awash with stories which are being investigated. If these stories are true, measures will be put in place to ensure that they never occur again,” he added.
Restore Ghana’s pride
President Akufo-Addo urged the board, chaired by Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, a Minister of Water, Works and Housing in the Kufuor administration, to help restore the country’s pride as a vibrant cocoa producing country.
He said Mr Owusu-Agyemang had considerable experience from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and indicated that the other members of the board had been carefully chosen because they had the qualities to help revive the industry.
He described the task ahead of the board members as onerous but expressed confidence in the calibre of personalities who, he said, were capable of delivering.
Achieve the production target
“The Ghanaian people are looking at you. They want to see a new leaf turned in the manner in which our cocoa industry has been managed," he said
The President said the board would be supervised by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a passionate advocate for the cocoa industry.
"From where I am standing, I have put together a winning team and I am hoping that your performance will show that my judgement is right," he said
Speaking on behalf of the board, Mr Owusu-Agyemang said the team would work hard to revive the cocoa industry and achieve the government's production target of one million tonnes of cocoa.
Other members of the board are the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo; Kwame Sarpong and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Abdul Nasiri Issahaku.
The rest are Nana Adwoa Dokua, Nana Johnson Mensah, Nana Obeng Akrofi, Peter Atta Boakye, Charles Adu Boahen, Carlos Ahenkorah and Dr Jire Nura.