COCOBOD to begin 'catch and share' initiative for whistleblowers who report cocoa smuggling

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has stated that it is putting measures in place to address cocoa smuggling in Ghana.

The measures include cash prizes for persons who report smuggling and also a system where whistleblowers get a share of the cocoa being smuggled.

This was disclosed by the Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Stephen Fiifi Boafo.

According to him, “The first step in checking the smuggling is announcing a prize that will make it less attractive for anyone who wishes to smuggle cocoa out of our country. The other is also to implement fully and a revised form, a catch and share arrangement where people who give information on smuggling that leads to an arrest will be given a larger share of the value of that cocoa being smuggled. These are parts of the arrangements we have.”

Earlier, COCOBOD disclosed that between 100,000 and 200,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans have been lost due to smuggling activities out of Ghana to neighbouring countries such as Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the smuggling activities have taken place from January this year to date.

Speaking with journalists in Kumasi on September 8, 2023, the COCOBOD CEO lamented that the illegal activities were taking a huge toll on Ghana’s cocoa output and the economy at large.

“We believe that there are some high-powered businessmen involved in the smuggling of cocoa beans…looking at the volume of cocoa beans being smuggled, it is not something that a cocoa farmer can do” …no farmer will be able to transport such volumes,” he is quoted by the Ghanaian Times Newspaper.

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