Cocoa loans: Let's admit the situation is dire – Joe Jackson

Financial Analyst, Joe Jackson, has asked the government to admit the extent of the country’s current economic state.

According to him, cocoa farmers crying because the Ghana Cocoa Board cannot pay them is “more bad news for Ghana’s economy”.

His comments were a reaction to a BBC report that noted that Ghanaian cocoa farmers say they are broke.

Joe Jackson wrote on X: “Ghana’s cocoa farmers say they're broke, as the cocoa board, which they're obliged by law to sell their produce, is unable to pay them. More bad news for Ghana's economy. Cry, beloved country. Please let's admit that the situation is dire.”

Earlier, Vice President of policy think-tank IMANI Ghana, Bright Simons, said he is in a state of disbelief over the government’s denial of the state of the economy.

He said the country’s current credit situation is one of the worst that the country has experienced in a long time, but the government refuses to accept the depth of the crisis.

Bright Simons also lamented the current inability of civil society organizations to engage the government on pertinent issues because of its attitude toward the crisis.

Bright Simons’ worry stems from the country’s inability to obtain loans to finance its activities due to its weak credit status.

“The challenge here is that we, those of us in the policy activism space, can no longer engage with the govt because it refuses to accept the reality we see. It adamantly insists that everything is great. So, we must be hallucinating. This is very surreal. Never been as confused.

“Those who don't understand the unique constraints we are now operating under will mistakenly assume that we just like trumpeting bad news & talking down Gh. No! We're stuck in a loop of trying to confirm what our eyes see that the govt always denies. So, an endless back & forth!” he wrote on X on November 8, 2023.

SSD/NOQ

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