Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced plans to introduce new laws to reform the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
The government says the changes are meant to improve the cocoa sector, make COCOBOD financially stronger, and increase local cocoa processing in Ghana.
These reforms come as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continues to push for major changes at COCOBOD. The IMF wants the institution to cut costs, work more efficiently, and become financially stable in the long term.
Speaking at the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable, Dr. Forson explained that the government does not want to abolish COCOBOD, but rather improve how it operates.
“Cocoa board needs reforms. I do not believe in scrapping it, but I believe that we need to reform the cocoa board.”
He said COCOBOD has played an important role in Ghana’s economy over the years by bringing in foreign exchange through cocoa exports. However, he admitted that the institution has faced management and operational challenges.
“Cocoa board has served Ghana well. It has been a major source of foreign exchange. It has obviously suffered some mismanagement. It’s a fact that we need to recognise.”
Dr. Forson also revealed that the government will soon present a new bill to Parliament to change the structure and operations of COCOBOD.
“Government has taken a decision to reform cocoa board. I’ll be going to Parliament in the next few weeks to introduce a new bill to Parliament reforming cocoa board and changing the structure of cocoa board.”
The planned reforms are expected to improve cocoa financing, increase efficiency, and support more value addition in the cocoa industry.
The IMF has already supported Ghana’s plans to stabilise the cocoa sector and has encouraged the government to fully implement COCOBOD’s recovery strategy.
This includes improving financial management and reducing unnecessary spending.
Dr. Forson added that the government wants to increase local cocoa processing as part of Ghana’s industrialisation efforts.
“For example, the bill was set to make sure that at least 50% of our raw cocoa is processed locally.”
He stressed that Ghana should no longer depend mainly on exporting raw cocoa beans without benefiting more from the full cocoa value chain.
“We’ve been shipping out our cocoa for too long and so we want to stop that.”
