Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has disclosed that Cabinet has agreed on “far-reaching and decisive measures” to address the ongoing challenges in Ghana’s cocoa sector, following an emergency meeting held on Wednesday.
Addressing the Presidential Press Corps after the cabinet meeting, he said the lengthy emergency session focused exclusively on the cocoa sector and matters arising from it.
“We have just concluded a lengthy cabinet meeting which is an emergency session that discussed the cocoa sector and matters arising there,” he noted.
According to him, the meeting ended with firm decisions aimed at stabilising the sector, including expedited payment of cocoa farmers and sweeping structural reforms to begin domestic processing of cocoa.
“At the end of the session, decisive measures have been agreed upon regarding expedited payment of cocoa farmers, regarding the implementation of the most drastic reforms in the cocoa sector with the goal to achieving quantum leaps in domestic processing of cocoa as opposed to export of raw materials and various reforms to be carried out at COCOBOD in other to ensure more effective administration and management of the cocoa sector,” he said.
Kwakye Ofosu indicated that full details of the measures will be made public on Thursday, February 12 by the Finance Minister.
“At 11 am tomorrow (Thursday) the finance minister will address the nation and announce these far-reaching measures as agreed upon at the end of the Cabinet meeting today,” he added.
The emergency meeting comes amid growing concerns within the cocoa industry, including delayed payments to farmers, production challenges, and calls for greater value addition through local processing.
If the government succeeds in boosting domestic processing and reducing reliance on raw bean exports with these measures said to be announced, this will mark a significant shift in Ghana’s cocoa sector.
All attention will now be on the Finance Minister’s national address for clarity on the specific interventions and timelines for implementation.
Source: 3news.com
