GHC570 million earmarked for cocoa roads too much – MP
The Member of Parliament (MP) the Subin constituency and former Chief Executive (CEO) of COCOBOD Isaac Osei has bemoaned the amount of GHC570 million earmarked by COCOBOD for the construction of cocoa roads across cocoa growing communities in the country.
According to him, the figure is relatively too high. And that it is important for the figures to re-looked with the view to re-aligning them.
He explained that, the road function is not the core function of COCOBOD, hence the need for government to renegotiate with COCOBOD with the view of allocating the funds where it should be.
In his view, it will do no harm if the GHC 5 million allocated for Farmers Wards Scholarship Scheme is rather doubled, by reducing what has been allocated for roads.
Hon. Isaac Osei opined that, COCOBOD, is not equipped with that function’ and maybe other government agencies like the Roads Ministry is better placed for such functions.
The Minority in Parliament raised concerns about the utilization of the syndicated loan proceeds for the 2015/2016 crop season. An amount of $169,000 was also spent as legal fees among other expenditure.
The loan has attracted an interest of $4.1 million from October 2015 to January 2016.
The amount of Ghc380 million for fertilizers, the use of $20,000 for the renting of a venue for a signing ceremony, and $88,000 for legal fees, were aspects of the spreadsheet of COCOBOD that came up for discussion on the floor of the house.
The issues were raised during the debate for another approval of a $2 billion dollar trade finance facility for COCOBOD for the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2016/2017 crop season.
Ghana Cocoa Board spent $20, 000 out of the $1.8 billion syndicated loan for the 2015/2016 crop season, for the renting of a venue for a signing ceremony.
Hon. Isaac Osei noted further, the facility is probably the largest anywhere in the world. And it is the track records of COCOBOD over the years, he posited. Ghana he said is not in a better shape in terms of our economic conditions to warrant such a facility.
He said the monies requested by Cocobod for 2016, and that which was spent in 2015, are too high considering that several Ghanaian farmers still do not have access to inputs such as fertilizers which are smuggled to other African countries.
Source: rainbowradioonline.com
