{"id":103407,"date":"2025-11-15T04:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103407"},"modified":"2025-11-15T04:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:53:08","slug":"gh%c2%a230-billion-debt-write-off-urgent-icu-warns-cocobod-crisis-threatens-ghanas-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103407","title":{"rendered":"GH\u00a230 Billion debt write-off urgent: ICU warns Cocobod crisis threatens Ghana\u2019s economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 11 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has issued a dire warning to the government, insisting that the only way to save Ghana\u2019s cocoa sector from imminent collapse is by immediately writing off the massive debt burden of over GH\u00a230 billion owed by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).<\/p>\n

Reacting to the government\u2019s 2026 Budget Statement, ICU General Secretary Morgan Ayawine acknowledged the government\u2019s renewed commitment to the sector but stressed that only a decisive financial intervention of this magnitude can restore COCOBOD to its former \u201cglorious position\u201d as a global leader.<\/p>\n

The call for a full debt cancellation and recapitalization comes as Ghana\u2019s vital cocoa industry faces deep-seated structural and financial challenges. Mr. Ayawine cautioned against singular blame, framing COCOBOD\u2019s debt as part of a wider, global industrial phenomenon.<\/p>\n

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\u201cRecently we have been saddled by challenges in the cocoa industry. Every sector globally is bedeviled with issues such as debts, so when we hear that COCOBOD has debts, it should not be taken as though COCOBOD alone is at fault,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat government needs to do is to see the importance of Ghana COCOBOD and take pragmatic steps to halt its decline. These are challenges, even though management and workers are doing their best,\u201d he told TV3.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He articulated the ICU\u2019s core solution, emphasising the need for immediate, drastic action:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat COCOBOD needs is capital injection to reclaim its glorious position as the leading producer of cocoa in the world. Writing off COCOBOD\u2019s debt and recapitalizing the institution will put it on the right pedestal to boost production.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The ICU welcomed the announcement by Finance Minister Dr. Ato Forson in the 2026 Budget that the government intends to procure over 200,000 hectares of land for cocoa expansion next year. Mr. Ayawine lauded this as a \u201cbold decision\u201d that could help COCOBOD meet its long-standing objective of achieving one million metric tonnes of cocoa production.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf government is able to acquire the 200,000 hectares of land to boost production, there will be no doubt in anyone\u2019s mind that COCOBOD is moving towards achieving its one million metric tonnes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, the union raised a serious, immediate concern regarding market operations: the Produce Buying Company (PBC)\u2014a key purchaser of cocoa beans\u2014has not received the necessary funding for the ongoing main crop season, which typically commences in October.<\/p>\n

This lack of operational capital risks disrupting the purchasing cycle and negatively impacting farmers and market stability.<\/p>\n

Beyond the cocoa sector, the ICU used the budget reaction to call for financial support to be extended to other distressed industries crucial for employment.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ayawine praised the government\u2019s decision to fully recapitalize the National Investment Bank (NIB), acknowledging the shift from earlier plans for a potential merger with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Minister talked about the successful recapitalization of NIB, which was expected to merge with ADB. Through discussions, government allowed both banks to operate independently, and fully recapitalizing NIB is commendable,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to escalate this to other banks that are in distress.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The ICU also questioned the feasibility of the budget\u2019s target to create 20,000 new jobs in the textiles and garments sector, arguing that the priority must be on reviving existing, distressed factories. <\/p>\n

Mr. Ayawine cited the dramatic collapse of the industry, which has seen the number of functional companies dwindle sharply.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe textiles and garments sector used to have about 40 companies. Today, we are talking about three or four, and even these existing factories are not functioning well. <\/p>\n

Thousands of workers are at home,\u201d he noted. \u201cIf government is coming with this laudable idea to set up new companies, we believe the old factories should be revived to complement the new ones,\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GH\u00a230Despite efforts to boost civic engagement, youth participation in governance in Ghana remains limited, a challenge highlighted by the STAR-Ghana Foundation as it unveiled its new five-year governance strategic plan.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1006,12,2582,1951,117,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agribusiness","category-business","category-cocoa","category-hp-news-1","category-news","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}