Minority questions COCOBOD’s GH¢3.4bn head office expenditure

The Minority in Parliament has criticized the management of Ghana's Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) for rising administrative costs amid declining cocoa production.

Cocoa output has fallen to 655,000 tonnes over the past four years, yet COCOBOD's head office expenditure reached GH¢3.4 billion in 2023.

Eric Opoku, Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs Committee, highlighted the disparity, noting that while cocoa producers face numerous hardships, COCOBOD's headquarters alone spent more than the entire Ministry of Agriculture's budget of GH¢2.7 billion.

Opoku questioned if the focus was on office expenditures rather than supporting cocoa production.