The management of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced immediate salary reductions for its senior officials as part of measures to address ongoing financial challenges.
Under the directive, salaries of executive members have been cut by 20 percent, while senior staff will take a 10 percent reduction.
The decision comes as the Board struggles to mobilise sufficient funds to pay cocoa farmers who supplied beans for the 2024/2025 crop season. The delays have triggered tensions between COCOBOD and farmers in recent months.
In a letter dated February 16 and signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Ransford Anertey Abbey, management attributed the move to persistent cash flow difficulties that have affected the entity’s ability to promptly settle payments owed to farmers.
“The latest decision taken by Management has become necessary as the company undertakes a series of reforms to streamline procurement processes and rationalise staff costs in order to save resources, keep the entity afloat, and fulfil its contractual obligations to stakeholders,” the letter stated.
Management further indicated that government, in collaboration with COCOBOD’s executive leadership, is taking steps to clear outstanding debts owed to farmers in the coming months, in a bid to resolve the impasse threatening the sustainability of the cocoa sector.
The Board noted that the ongoing reforms are aimed at protecting the interests of stakeholders in an industry that has underpinned Ghana’s economic growth for decades, amid declining global cocoa prices.
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Story by Sika Togoh|univers.ug.edu.gh
