Finance Ministry not responsible for COCOBOD supplier debts - Thomas Ampem

Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem has told Parliament that the Ministry of Finance is not responsible for settling debts owed to suppliers of fertilisers and agrochemicals procured by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

Addressing the House on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, during the seventeenth sitting of the second meeting of the second session, Ampem said the liabilities arose from COCOBOD's own procurement decisions and not from obligations directly under the Ministry of Finance.

"Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Finance is not responsible for the payment of input suppliers who supplied agrochemicals and fertilisers to COCOBOD," he stated.

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He explained that between 2021 and 2024, COCOBOD procured fertilisers and agrochemicals far beyond its financial capacity, creating a debt burden that the institution has struggled to clear.

"COCOBOD procured excessive quantities of fertilisers and agrochemicals beyond its financial capacity between 2021 and 2024. This mismanagement of COCOBOD's finances made it impossible to pay suppliers for the 2021/2022 crop year," he added.

According to Ampem, for the 2021/2022 crop season alone, COCOBOD procured agrochemicals worth $455.7 million despite making a budgetary provision of only $312.8 million.

He noted that despite the outstanding liabilities from that season, the cocoa regulator continued procuring additional fertilisers and agrochemicals in subsequent years.

Citing the 2023/2024 crop season, the Deputy Minister said COCOBOD budgeted only $76.5 million for agrochemicals but entered into contracts worth approximately $668.6 million.

He indicated that the growing debt owed to suppliers forms part of broader financial challenges inherited within the cocoa sector.

However, Ampem disclosed that COCOBOD has begun settling some of the outstanding obligations, revealing that a total of $25 million has been paid to fertiliser and agrochemical suppliers from January 2026 to date.

FKA/MA