Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board Joseph Boahen Aidoo
The main opposition National Democratic Congress’ Edudzi Tameklo has said Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), is a “very wicked man” who has “completely destroyed” the credit-worthy state company the Akufo-Addo government inherited from the Mahama administration and run it down to the extent that international banks no longer find it attractive to do business with.
Mr. Tameklo’s effusions follow an announcement by COCOBOD at a media briefing on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, that it is breaking away from the 32-year tradition of relying on offshore borrowing to fund cocoa purchases through its cocoa syndication program.
For the 2024–2025 cocoa crop season, which begins in September 2024, Mr. Aidoo told journalists that COCOBOD is set to transition to self-financing to reduce its dependency on external funds.
"Is it good that COCOBOD should always be heard going to borrow? Are we comfortable with that tag? Today, you have heard that COCOBOD is not going to borrow. It is quite a good time for any human being to learn his or her lessons."
"In 32 years, we have learned our lessons, and we think that it is high time we wean ourselves from the offshore international financial markets and then finance the crop ourselves here. And that is exactly what we are going to do. And I think it comes with a lot of projectory benefits," Mr. Aidoo said.
"We are looking for $1.5 billion this crop season, and looking at the interest rates last year, which were over 8 percent, plus the cost, it means that we can save more than $150 million by making the decision not to go offshore," he added.
However, Mr. Tameklo, who is the Director of Legal Affairs of the biggest opposition party, indicated on Facebook about Mr. Aidoo’s announcement that instead of the CEO admitting responsibility for COCOBO’s bad books and unimpressive production figures, he is seeking to ride on the “mess” he created for self-glorification.
“Cocoa production has fallen to 500,000 metric tonnes. Instead of admitting that you are responsible for this mess, you are here creating a useless impression. This man should be arrested,” he stated.
According to Mr. Tameklo, “all he [the COCOBOD CEO] is interested in is the award of sole-sourced contracts to Bawumia’s brother and others. Shame!”
