An Associate Professor of Finance at Andrews University, Williams Peprah, has blamed the deepening crisis at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) on years of politicisation and mission shift.

His comments follow a recent press briefing by the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who officially announced a sweeping crackdown on COCOBOD, ordering a simultaneous forensic audit and criminal investigation into the institution's operations over the past eight years.

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson revealed that Cabinet has sanctioned the Attorney-General to spearhead the probe to uncover the root causes of the board’s crippling GH¢32.9 billion debt stock.

Speaking on Pulse on JoyNews, Prof. Peprah said that the problems at COCOBOD go beyond one administration and reflect a long-standing pattern of political interference.

In his view, the root cause remains political control over the institution.

“In my perspective, the politicisation of COCOBOD is a main issue. And that is where we must look at it and see how we mitigate or reduce the political entities or players attached to COCOBOD transactions. And this is what is going to be able to help us to resolve the issue,” Prof. Peprah said.

“The political entities have used COCOBOD, and not the previous government, or even those before them, as a means where, one, they used to champion their policy agendas,” he said.

Read also: Cabinet has directed criminal COCOBOD probe covering last 8 years – Ato Forson reveals

According to him, this shift in focus weakened the institution’s core mandate.

“COCOBOD, instead of focusing on their core mandate, started venturing into areas that they were not supposed to go. COCOBOD going into road areas was not their main mandate. And this was continuing,” he explained.

He said such diversions, combined with other decisions over the years, caused the Board to lose direction.

“Some other aspects that came along let COCOBOD lose focus. And also because this is a cash cow, let me put it, a cash cow for all the political entities,” he stated.

Prof. Peprah alleged that COCOBOD contracts were sometimes used to reward party financiers.

“This is where they repay, they used to repay people who have financed political parties, because it is sure every year there will be a roadshow to raise money. So if you have a COCOBOD contract, good for you,” he said.

He added that supplier arrangements were not always scrutinised closely. “A lot of people did not also pay attention to the margins that were placed on suppliers to COCOBOD. So individuals have really, really profited from it,” he noted.

While welcoming the planned investigation, Prof. Peprah said it should not be limited to recent years.

“It is good that they are saying they are going to investigate, but this investigation should not only be limited to the last seven years or so but possibly go backwards to see what has been done and what has been done wrong,” he urged.

He also raised concerns about accountability, especially where contracts were formally signed.

“For the supplier, they have a signed contract. Unless there’s any proof that there was some collusion between the supplier and the management of COCOBOD and their board, it is going to be very difficult to find where the misalignment will come from,” he explained.