Member of Parliament for Suhum in the Eastern Region, Oboafo Kwadjo Asante has lauded the Cocobod for the immense contribution towards the construction of road infrastructure across the country.
According to the MP who is a Member of the board of Cocobod, his constituency alone has benefited from many cocoa roads under the current leadership and there is higher expectation that some other internal roads within his enclave will be awarded in the days ahead.
The MP, also the Procurement Chairman of Cocobod said this during a durbar held to mark the opening ceremony of this year’s Cocoa Day Celebration in Suhum under the theme “Cocobod At 75 Sustaining Our Environment, Wealth And Health”.
Speaking on the cocoa roads he said he has so far constructed a total of 74 kilometers of roads in some of the villages in Suhum.
He noted that notwithstanding, Cocobod has also assured him to construct the roads linked to communities such as; Aponapon Kwasi Komfo road which was terminated after awarding it to a contractor who failed to construct the road.
The Suhum MP, Oboafo Kwadjo Asante further eulogized farmers and all stakeholders in the cocoa value chain for their immense contribution to sustaining cocoa production since Tetteh Quashie first established cocoa farms in Ghana.
“We are grateful to have hardworking farmers in the country, without cocoa there wouldn’t be any better Ghana as we have, as politicians will continue to support cocoa farmers at all times, we know that our cocoa nowadays is being affected by illegal mining but I believe this is the time the government and all of us rise and fight against galamsey to restore what is being lost as a result of illegal mining activities in the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocobod, Raymond Ankrah who delivered a speech on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer said the recent surge of illegal mining activities was a major challenge crippling the cocoa sector in Ghana hence urging the government to adopt a more aggressive approach to sustainable cocoa production in Ghana.
He said the contribution of cocoa to the socio-economic development of Ghana cannot be overemphasized, whether directly or indirectly cocoa is the one single crop that has positively affected the livelihood of every Ghanaian household, therefore cocoa is a crop worth celebrating.
–BY Daniel Bampoe