The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has revealed that more than GH¢1.6 million of its investments are currently tied up with Zenith Bank due to the government's Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

During a session with the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Ray Ankrah, Deputy CEO of COCOBOD for Finance and Administration, reported that while GH¢200,000 has been recovered from an initial sum exceeding GH¢1.8 million, efforts are ongoing to reclaim the remaining balance.

“COCOBOD is pursuing the amount. So far Zenith has paid GH¢253, 550 of the total amount so we are still pursuing the remaining amount.”

“Honourable chair, what we do is every now and then we hold meetings with them, we remind them with letters so we are sure that once the funds are available they will transfer it into our account,” he stated.

The auditors reported that from the total amount exceeding GH¢1.8 million, GH¢255,403 had been recovered or repaid, leaving an outstanding balance of GH¢1,611,884.45. A payment plan for the remaining balance has yet to be determined.