'I'm jobless and can't pay my rent now because of President Mahama - NPP's Ama Daaku

A member of the New Patriotic Party’s National Communication Team, Ellen Ama Daaku, has blamed her inability to pay her rent on President John Dramani Mahama.

According to her, the president’s recent decision regarding the cocoa sector has affected her finances.

Speaking in an interview on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo, she explained, “For me, the cocoa issues I cannot stop talking about because I am unemployed and it is my father who takes care of me. Anytime my father sells his cocoa, he gives me money. Some years, he gives me GH¢10,000 or GH¢20,000.

“This year, if all things had gone well in the cocoa sector, I would have received about GH¢30,000 from my father to pay my rent. But because of President Mahama’s decision, my father was unable to give me money and I haven’t been able to pay my rent.”

She added that the situation has also become a problem for cocoa farmers, “They have reduced GH¢1,100 from the cocoa price, which is affecting the farmers. The same cocoa is what takes care of me and my children, so President Mahama should give the farmers their money so we can also get our share.”

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The government recently reduced the producer price of cocoa to GH¢41,392 per tonne and GH¢2,587 per bag for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season. Officials cited a sharp fall in global market prices and mounting liquidity pressures within the sector.

Announcing the decision at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, explained that the adjustment was necessary to reflect current international price realities while protecting farmers’ incomes as much as possible.

He noted that the 2025/2026 cocoa season began in August 2025 with a producer price of GH¢51,660 per tonne, calculated at 70 percent of the gross free-on-board price of 7,200 US dollars per tonne, using an exchange rate of 10.25 cedis to the dollar.

Following Côte d’Ivoire’s announcement of a higher producer price in October 2025 and movements in the exchange rate, Ghana revised its farm gate price upwards to GH¢58,000 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢3,625 per bag, to curb the risk of smuggling.

AM

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