Deputy Ranking Member on the Agriculture, Food, and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw, has raised concerns about the Ghana Cocoa Board's (COCOBOD) decision not to seek external loans for the 2024/2025 cocoa season.

Dr. Jasaw questioned where COCOBOD intends to source the necessary funds, expressing doubts about the sustainability of the internal financing strategy announced by the organization.

“I think the question we should be asking is if COCOBOD is not going to take the external loan, where is it going to get the financing from?” he asked.

His concern comes after the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo announced that, for the first time in three decades, COCOBOD will not secure offshore syndicated loans to finance the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2024/2025 crop season.

• Read also: No offshore syndicated loan for 2024/25 cocoa crop season – COCOBOD declares

Targeting the purchase of around 650,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans, COCOBOD stated that it plans to finance the procurement entirely from its internal operations, explaining that there is a comprehensive strategy in place to reduce COCOBOD's dependence on high-interest loans from offshore lenders.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on August 21, Dr Seidu Jasaw criticised the decision.

According to him, if COCOBOD has managed to establish a reliable and cost-effective local financing arrangement, the policy could be commendable.

However, he warned that if the financing would come from traders like OLAM without clear guarantees, COCOBOD may no longer be playing a significant role.

He added that the Minority has called for a leadership meeting to discuss the viability of COCOBOD's chosen financing route and when they can meet with COCOBOD to discuss how sustainable their route chosen is.

Read also: COCOBOD isn’t borrowing from foreign banks because it’s not creditworthy – Minority

Meanwhile, Minority has described COCOBOD's decision not to borrow from foreign banks as contrived and face-saving.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, August 21, the Minority Leader noted that it is a tactic deployed to hide the fact that COCOBOD is no longer credit-worthy.

“The announcement by COCOBOD that it has taken a bold decision not to borrow from foreign banks to finance cocoa purchases after 32 years is false, unmeritorious, contrived and face-saving,” portions of the statement said.

According to him, COCOBOD was chased away from the market because it is no longer creditworthy, lacks credibility and cannot produce enough cocoa to meet its contractual obligations.