In a crucial time when national interest should be put ahead of personal agendas, the position of Chief Executive Officer at Cocobod (currently an insolvent SOE) can’t be taken for granted.

Cocobod, for the past several years under the leadership of Mr. Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has seen diminishing returns in revenue. It’s safe to say that the institution has almost become insolvent, even still servicing debt from 2023.

Currently, cocoa prices are almost at $12,000 per ton; however, Ghana, a leading producer of cocoa, isn’t benefiting from these price hikes. Cocobod has failed to meet its targets in supply for the past couple of years and has even gone as far as defaulting on its syndicated loans.

The industry, as it stands, needs a major overhaul, and Dr. Randy Abbey is not that person. The reason is that, Dr. Randy Abbey does not possess the core competence or knowledge of this failing industry, nor does he have a finance background to build a financial structure to save Cocobod. Just last week, Dr. Abbey was appointed as chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee. Cocobod is not a football field. The cocoa industry and the livelihood of cocoa farmers and all farmers shouldn’t be taken for granted.

We, as concerned citizens, are making a case to the president that in his quest to appoint the next Chief Executive of Cocobod, he should take into account what happened the last time he chose to appoint a medical doctor as the Chief Executive Officer of Cocobod.

We want the president, administration, and Cocobod to succeed. Therefore, we hope that whoever he decides to appoint as the next CEO of Cocobod possesses core competence within the industry and also understands financial engineering because Cocobod needs resurrection as farmers have lost hope in the institution.