Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced additional reforms directed by the Cabinet for implementation in the cocoa sector. This policy shift focuses on aggressive industrialization, financial restructuring to resolve legacy debts, and a legislative return to COCOBOD’s core mandate.
A primary directive from Cabinet mandates that beginning from the 2026/27 crop season, a minimum of 50% of cocoa beans should be processed locally. Pursuant to this, the state-owned Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) will be revived as a matter of priority to become the leading processor of cocoa beans.
Prior to the press conference held on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the Finance Minister and the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry met with domestic cocoa processors.
These stakeholders indicated their capacity and willingness to process even more than 50% of the cocoa produced in Ghana. Consequently, an agreement has been reached on the immediate implementation of this new policy to ensure more value remains within the country.
Restoring Financial Health through Debt Conversion
In order to address the indebtedness inherited by the current management of COCOBOD, Cabinet has further directed the Minister for Finance to urgently seek Parliamentary approval to convert part of the legacy debts into equity. This involves approximately GH¢5 billion owed to the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana.
Specifically, COCOBOD currently owes the Ministry of Finance GH¢3.7 billion, which arose from the conversion of non-marketable cocoa bills into a loan, alongside a 10-year loan of GH¢1.38 billion owed to the Bank of Ghana. Dr. Forson explained that this debt conversion will restore positive equity and boost confidence in both international and local markets. Ultimately, this will strengthen the balance sheet of COCOBOD, enabling it to implement a new financing model for cocoa purchases and related operations.
Cabinet noted that road construction has accounted for a significant part of the financial difficulties faced by COCOBOD. From 2014 to 2024, the organization awarded cocoa road contracts totaling GH¢26.5 billion, with GH¢21.5 billion of those contracts awarded between the 2018/19 and 2020/21 crop years.
Despite an agreement under the 2023 IMF programme to rationalise these commitments from GH¢21.7 billion to GH¢6.9 billion, the previous board and management failed to conduct the exercise.
Under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Roads and COCOBOD have now jointly completed this rationalisation.
This exercise successfully reduced the total exposure from GH¢21.7 billion to GH¢4.35 billion.
Following this completion, Cabinet has directed that the remaining liability of GH¢4.35 billion be transferred to the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
A New Mandate and Future Infrastructure Funding
To prevent future financial distress, the new COCOBOD Bill prohibits the organization from all such quasi-fiscal expenditures and non-core activities, pursuant to an earlier announcement by the Minister for Finance.
Moving forward, the responsibility for infrastructure in these regions will shift to direct government funding. As announced in the 2026 Budget, the Government of Ghana has secured a US$500 million World Bank facility dedicated to constructing agriculture roads. This ensures that roads in cocoa-growing areas will continue to be developed without compromising the financial integrity of COCOBOD.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
