Ghana Palaver

A front-page story of the paper reads "Don't let selfishness override economic issues". The story, says Mr. Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance has asked all those charge with the managing of the economy to have dispassionate discussions in order to achieve a robust and viable economy.

According to the story, Mr. Peprah made this known at the opening of a two-day workshop on the Cocoa Sector Development Strategy in Accra. He said "I am calling for a dispassionate discussion for the simple reason that the document touches on fundamental issues about how the Cocoa sector has been managed since the establishment of the Ghana Cocoa Board in 1947".

The paper says, Mr. Peprah said there is now greater and improved awareness and transparency in the way business and institution are managed and urged stake holders not to loose sight of the fact that the on-going reforms have culminated in the liberation of economy.

According to the paper, Prof. George Alhassan Director- General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, a member of the task force attributed the low rate of Cocoa Production to the prolonged 1980 droughts, bush fires, abandoning of Cocoa farms, ageing cocoa trees and inadequate control of pest and diseases and suggested a replanting of destroyed and abandoned farms.