Senyo Amekplenu, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, has called on Dr. Randy Abbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), to resign, citing concerns over his leadership and competence in managing the country’s cocoa sector.
Amekplenu made the remarks on Saturday during an appearance on The Forum, a political and current affairs program on Asaase Radio.
“He got it all wrong from the start,” Amekplenu said, describing Abbey as “gittery” and lacking the skills to handle the responsibilities of his position. COCOBOD is not football, it is not journalism… the ball is now thrown at you.”
“He lacks the competence to sit in that position. If I were him, I would have resigned. [And] he has glorified his arrogance by engaging the media instead of stepping back and taking responsibility,” he added.
Growing pressure
The comments come amid growing pressure from the Minority Caucus in Parliament, which has called on the government and COCOBOD to settle more than GHC 10 billion in outstanding payments owed to cocoa farmers and Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs).
COCOBOD has warned that international buyers are increasingly avoiding Ghanaian cocoa due to higher prices compared with other producing countries.
Amekplenu dismissed this explanation, arguing that it reflected inadequate leadership and a poor understanding of the cocoa market.
“Randy Abbey should tender his resignation letter. He does not deserve to be there,” he said.
Possible strike
Meanwhile, cocoa farmers have warned they could reconsider doing business with the government if the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) fails to fulfil its statutory obligation to purchase cocoa beans.
President of the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association (GNACOFA) Stephenson Anane Boateng said COCOBOD, which has a legal mandate to buy cocoa from farmers, must be fully prepared to do so or formally inform farmers if it can no longer meet that obligation.
“We know COCOBOD is mandated to buy the cocoa, and once I have produced the cocoa it is their responsibility to buy it,” Boateng said on The Forum. “If they are not ready to buy any longer, they should let us know so that we can decide what to do with our products.”
Boateng rejected suggestions that farmers should help design solutions to challenges facing the cocoa sector, arguing that research and policy formulation fall within COCOBOD’s remit.
“They have doctors, professors and researchers at COCOBOD. Cocoa farmers are not knowledgeable enough to be giving ideas on how the cocoa business should be run,” he said.
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