Ghana replaces Cocobod cocoa board chief - sources

ABIDJAN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The chief executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), John Newman, has been replaced by the body\'s deputy chief executive, Sam Appah, cocoa industry sources said on Monday.

They said that Newman had been asked by new Finance Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo last week \"to go on leave\" and hand over management to Appah, who was in charge of Cocobod\'s marketing.

A spokesman for Ghana\'s Finance Ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Ghana, the world\'s second largest cocoa exporter, saw a change of government in January when liberal opposition leader John Kufuor was elected president. Jerry Rawlings stepped down after almost 20 years in power.

Osafo-Maafo last Thursday also sent the heads of six state-run financial and insurance institutions on forced leave. The finance minister is expected to come out with directives soon to reorganise the Cocobod within the framework of the liberalisation of part of the country\'s cocoa exports, the sources said.

Ghana liberalised 30 percent of its exports at the start of the 2000/2001 season in October 2000. But private cocoa buyers said rules were unclear and none has yet started exporting.

At the start of the season, Cocobod published only scanty guidelines and important details were lacking, such as who is to pay for beans rejected on quality grounds at destination.