Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Baidoo, has revealed that the cocoa buying organisation is heavily indebted to the tune of GH¢ 10 billion.
According to him, the indebtedness is the result of mismanagement by the previous administration headed by Dr. Stephen Opuni adding the situation is impeding the smooth running of the Board.
He said due to the debt, the company is unable to pay bonuses to workers, explaining that the new management has been settling debts.
The other problem, he revealed, is the drop in cocoa beans production.
“Under the J. A [John Agyemum] Kufuor administration, we were producing 1 million metric tonnes of cocoa but now it has reduced to 778,000 metric tonnes. And we are also looking to restoring the glory of the cocoa sector.
“There are other issues we must fix but these are the two major ones I think we must deal with immediately to strengthen the sector,” he said Wednesday.
He, however, assured that efforts are being made to settle the debt and by the end of September.
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