The Majority in Parliament has accused the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of misappropriating a $600 million approved by Parliament for cocoa farm expansion and other productivity-enhancing projects.
According to the Majority, the funds, secured from the African Development Bank (AfDB), was intended to expand cocoa farms, plant new trees, survey farms, construct warehouses and increase cocoa yields, but the objectives were never achieved.
Contributing to the debate on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor alleged that the previous government failed to utilise the funds for their intended purpose.
“The NPP government led by the Majority Leader at the time and the Leader of Government Business, they came to this House to secure $600 million from the African Development Bank. The purpose was to expand cocoa farms, plant new trees, survey the farms, build warehouses and increase yield. It wasn’t done,” he said.
Mr. Dafeamekpor claimed the alleged mismanagement contributed to a sharp decline in Ghana’s cocoa production.
“At the end of 2024 in December, our cocoa yield plummeted from one million metric tonnes a year to 450,000,” he stated.
He further argued that the decline in cocoa output resulted in widespread job losses and negatively affected businesses across the cocoa value chain.
“People lost jobs, jobs were not created. In the supply chain, a lot of businesses lost out. They chopped the money,” he alleged.
