Parliament on Wednesday approved a syndicated loan of $1.3 billion, equivalent to GH¢5.85 billion, for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to enable it purchase cocoa beans for the 2017/2018 crop season.
A request for waiver of stamp duty amounting to $6.5 million on the receivables-backed trade finance facility between COCOBOD and a syndicate of banks and financial institutions was also approved by Parliament.
Moving the motion for the approval of the syndicated loan, chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, said the $1.3 billion trade facility was also to assist COCOBOD to raise funds for the purchase of cocoa beans from farmers through licensed buying companies for the 2017/2018 crop season and also to use some of the money for its buyers margins, internal marketing operations, farmers’ services and others.
The chairman of the committee explained that currently COCOBOD was distressed financially due to the payments of outstanding contracts and services.
He said in addition, COCOBOD was also paying some facilities, including the Bui Dam loan and therefore the payment of Stamp Duty would further present further challenges to the board.
According to the chairman of the committee, COCOBOD was targeting 850,000 metric tonnes for the 2017/2018 crop season with concentration on hand-induced pollination to augment pollination of the cocoa trees to achieve that target.
He said that in line with the objective to meet their target, 10,000 personnel had been recruited to assist in the exercise while 20,000 more hands would be engaged to help in the exercise.
Additionally, all cocoa farms affected by the fall army worm invasion had been sprayed.
On cocoa roads, the committee was informed that $150 million was allocated yearly by the previous government towards the construction of cocoa roads in the country.
“It was observed that contracts awarded exceeded the budgeted amount. For the three years of 2014 to 2016, the total budgeted amount was GH¢1,642,500,000, but the actual value of contracts awarded for the period amounted to GH¢5,161,631,496,” Dr Assibey-Yeboah observed.
The chairman of the committee explained that the CEO of COCOBOD had told the committee that 230 cocoa road contracts had been awarded as at the time he took over and that some of the contracts had serious issues of documentations and pricing and therefore a committee was set up to review them to ensure value for money.
Out of the road contract debt of GH¢5.1 billion, GH¢1.8 billion had been settled by the current administration.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza, who is the ranking member on Roads and Transport Committee, vehemently disputed the figure of 230 road contract provided by COCOBOB, saying that he has privileged information that the contracts awarded at the time of the NDC were not more than 150.
He was asked by the first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who was presiding at the time to withdraw that controversial figure since the Finance Committee had been given that official figure of 230.
The MPs appealed to COCOBOD not to suspend its cocoa road programme but ensure that the roads were constructed in cocoa growing areas and not the cities so that cocoa farmers will directly benefit from the initiative.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr