Ranking Member of the Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs Committee of Parliament, Eric Opoku is adamant that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) must provide a detailed account of the $1.3 billion Cocoa Syndicated loan it secured in 2022. The demand for transparency comes ahead of the anticipated approval of a new $800 million loan slated for this year.

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Opoku emphasizes the need for COCOBOD to justify the allocation of funds from the previous loan before seeking approval for the new financial arrangement.

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"What we do is that before we approve the new facility, they have to convince us as to how they used the previous one. And probably, it is one of the reasons they haven’t been able to bring the facility to us, why they are. We’ve heard of the GH¢800 million arrangements, but it hasn’t come to parliament yet," he says.

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Opoku, quoted by citinewsroom.com, expresses concerns about what he perceives as years of mismanagement at COCOBOD. He emphasizes the importance of ensuring that funds are utilized in the best interest of cocoa farmers and the broader Ghanaian populace.

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"When it comes, they must be answerable for how they utilized the first facility they took, the GH¢1.3 billion. And if we are not convinced that that money was used in the best interest of our cocoa farmers and that matter Ghanaians, they will have difficulty getting approval for this one," he asserts.

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COCOBOD, currently seeking a $400 million loan from cocoa traders to support its operations for the 2023/2024 season, faces scrutiny over the prolonged process of the Syndicated loan.

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Opoku criticizes the financial arrangement, highlighting the organization's struggle to settle debts and raising concerns about fund allocation.

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"For six continuous years, COCOBOD has been making losses. How can they set aside money to finance their activities? Don’t forget that the loan that we take, we don’t use all the money to buy cocoa. Part of it is used to pay their salary, part of it is used to pay their administrative cost," he explains.

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Opoku further quotes the Minister for Finance, revealing that 53% of the total cocoa proceeds are allocated to administrative costs, with just over 40% directed towards farmers.

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"So, you can imagine what is happening. All mismanagement and COCOBOD is now undischarged, insolvent."

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