Govt buying votes with new producer price of cocoa - Mahama

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has said the recent increment in the producer price of cocoa by the government is to influence the vote of farmers in the 2020 polls.

He said the government failed to heed calls for yearly increases in the producer price of cocoa from 2017 until the impending elections when it sees the need to do so.

Addressing separate durbars at Bonsu Nkwanta, Mafia and Boinzan in the Juaboso Constituency of the Western North Region, the former president pointed out that the increment in cocoa price is to cover up the failures of the government in the cocoa sector and manipulate the voting decision of cocoa farmers.

“So the increment is because election is near and government wants to use it to influence the vote of farmers,” he said.

He said the NDC government when elected will re-introduce the yearly increment of producer price of cocoa to enable cocoa farmers benefit from their toil, adding bonuses on producer price of cocoa will be restored under the next NDC government.

Mr Mahama said when given the mandate in the December 7, 2020 election, the next NDC administration will establish a pension scheme for cocoa farmers to take care of them upon their retirement.

Touching on cocoa roads, the two-time presidential candidate questioned the prudence of the government’s decision to abandon those projects.

He said most of the cocoa road projects would have long been completed if the NDC had been retained in the last elections.

Mr Mahama said when elected, the next NDC government will continue the cocoa roads project for easy transportation of cocoa beans.