Dr Randy Abbey is the COCOBOD CEO
A resurfaced video of Dr Randy Abbey and former Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfrom MP Sylvester Tetteh debating cocoa sector issues on Metro TV’s flagship program, Good Morning Ghana, in 2024 under the former NPP government has gained renewed attention online.
This is coming amid calls by the Minority in Parliament for Dr Abbey’s dismissal as Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board.
In the 21-minute-long video clip, recorded before Abbey’s appointment as COCOBOD CEO (during which he was the host of the program), he questioned the board’s decision to abandon its longstanding syndicated loan arrangement with foreign banks after initially issuing a request for proposals for a $1.5 billion facility.
NPP left COCOBOD in better state than we found it – Kodua claims
Abbey raised concerns about transparency, asking why COCOBOD would seek syndicated financing in June 2024 then announce in August 2024 that it would instead raise funds locally, claiming it would save $150 million.
He pressed for clarity on the alternative financing strategy and demanded details on how the projected savings were calculated.
“How does the COCOBOD issue a request for a proposal in June, just two months ago, for 1.5 billion in syndicated loans, and then in August, he holds a presser to tell us that, ‘Oh, we have decided that after 32 years with all our experience and everything, we won’t go for it again?’ It has nothing to do with the foreign banks. It’s a paradigm shift.
“We will raise the money from here. We will save 150 million dollars. Now, when the CEO is asked, ‘What is that strategy that you are going to use to do that?’ he says that we will let you know in due course,” Dr Abbey criticised.
He further argued that as a state institution, COCOBOD owed Ghanaians full disclosure.
Sylvester Tetteh, then a panelist on the show, defended the decision, describing criticisms from the Minority (the National Democratic Congress at the time) as politically-motivated.
He maintained that sourcing funds locally could reduce exchange rate risks and potentially secure better terms.
Tetteh also rejected claims that COCOBOD had recorded consistent losses over eight years, citing the board’s 2022/2023 audited accounts by Ernst & Young, which he said showed a profit.
“In fact, COCOBOD’s own audited account, 2023, representing 2022/2023 season by Ernst & Young, has put COCOBOD’s profitability at about 230 something million. So it is not true that they’ve made losses throughout the eight years,” Tetteh defended the sector.
He attributed production declines to factors including cocoa farm rehabilitation efforts, Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD), and illegal mining activities in cocoa-growing areas.
Dr Randy Abbey, however, challenged aspects of that defense, questioning production forecasts and pointing out discrepancies between projected and actual yields.
“The same institution that engaged in all these measures that you are talking about, the hectares of farms and all those things, that’s COCOBOD, right? This same COCOBOD, when they were doing the syndicated loan for 2023, do you know the forecast that they gave? The COCOBOD that is engaged in all these things, which you say resulted in the lower yield, they forecast 800,000 metric tons,” Dr Abbey noted.
COCOBOD CEO responds to Minority’s call for his removal
The resurfaced video is circulating at a time when a section of the public, including the Minority, has criticised Abbey’s leadership at COCOBOD and called for his removal, arguing that recent developments in the cocoa sector warrant accountability.
Watch the video below:
MAG/AE
#TrendingGH: Love or Pressure? Ghanaians speak on Valentine’s Day celebration
