The Member of Parliament for Bosome-Freho, Nana Asafo Adjei Ayeh, has alleged that the Ghana Cocoa Board recruited nearly 200 new staff between 2025 and 2026, despite mounting financial difficulties and outstanding payments owed to cocoa farmers.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, Mr Ayeh told host Moro Awudu that he stands by his claims and insisted his figures are accurate.
His comments follow a recent press statement by the Ghana Cocoa Board, COCOBOD, announcing salary reductions for its management and senior staff for the remainder of the 2025 2026 crop year. The Board cited liquidity challenges within the cocoa industry as the reason for the cuts.
Under the new measures, executive management members have taken a 20 percent reduction in salary, while senior staff have accepted a 10 percent cut. Management described the move as part of broader cost cutting efforts aimed at stabilising the Board’s finances.
But Mr Ayeh questioned the rationale behind the austerity measures, arguing that the financial pressures were not new.
“Before staff rationalisation, you had employed so many. You have done so many employments. These supposed costs making you do this were there when you came, yet you employed so many. Check from 2025 to 2026, the number of recruitment COCOBOD has done. About almost 200 new recruits,” he said.
The MP linked the recruitment to the Board’s current financial strain, particularly its indebtedness to cocoa farmers across the country, suggesting that staffing decisions may have contributed to the present challenges.
COCOBOD is yet to publicly respond to the specific recruitment figures cited by the lawmaker.
