Government to enforce law on Akuafo Cheque system

Kumasi, July 26, GNA- The government would as from next cocoa season, enforce the law on the use of the Akuafo Cheque to prevent any malpractices in the purchase of cocoa in the country. "The government has, therefore, directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to work out an effective and convenient Akuafo Cheque implementation scheme with the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and other banks to enable the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) to effect prompt payment of cocoa to farmers". This was contained in a speech read for Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, at the second annual rally of the Akuafo Adamfo Marketing Company in Kumasi on Friday. He has, therefore, charged LBCs to start putting together, all the necessary measures needed to implement the system as from the next main crop season.

The rally was organized to reward hard working cocoa farmers who sell their produce to the company. Mr Osafo-Maafo said the enforcement of the law would help reduce theft and the use of counterfeit notes and other malpractices in the purchase of cocoa, adding that, all the necessary logistics would be provided to the COCOBOD to make the system work. He said with the introduction of the hi-tech cocoa seeds and improved husbandry as well as the mass spraying exercise, the country hopes to increase its cocoa production from the current 447.476 metric tonnes to 500,000 metric tonnes in the next main crop season. The Minister said government also intended to encourage the processing and utilisation of cocoa by-products, which would lead to the establishment of cottage industries, create jobs in the rural areas and increase incomes of farmers.

Mr Osafo-Maafo, therefore, advised the LBCs to go into cocoa processing for both local and foreign markets. Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, commended the company for the initiative to reward hard working farmers. He, however, cautioned purchasing clerks to refrain from adjusting weighing scales to cheat unsuspecting farmers, adding that, the government would deal ruthlessly with any clerk who used fake currencies to purchase cocoa. Mr Ali Basma, Managing Director of the Company, attributed the success of the company within the short period of its operation to the hard work of the farmers, staff and the company's board of directors. He said the company was committed to the welfare of its farmers and would, therefore, initiate measures that would improve their well being adding that the company would work together with all stakeholders in the industry to increase cocoa production. The company presented items including deep freezers, fridges, television sets, bicycles, sound systems, cutlasses, and protective clothes to more than 1,000 farmers who dealt direct with it.