Social commentator and leading member of Arise Ghana, Listowell Nana Kusi-Poku, has labelled the appointment of Dr Randy Abbey as Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) as a “terrible mistake” by President John Dramani Mahama.
Listowel Kusi-Poku expressed surprise that Dr Abbey remains in his post despite what he describes as a clear demonstration of incompetence.
He argued that the CEO has failed to deliver on his mandate, leading to the significant challenges currently facing the cocoa sector.
According to Kusi-Poku, Dr Abbey lacks the necessary expertise to implement the new reforms recently announced by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson. He urged the President to find a more capable replacement to manage the institution’s affairs.
”I had already raised concerns about the need for Randy Abbey to be sacked. COCOBOD is a sensitive institution, and we needed to appoint someone capable of managing the area. Randy Abbey has demonstrated consistently that he does not have what it takes to manage COCOBOD. There was already a crisis at COCOBOD before President John Dramani Mahama took office, and you needed capable hands to deal with that crisis. Personally, I disagreed with the President in appointing him.”
He stated the Board was already on the verge of collapse under the previous government, hence the need to have appointed a more capable person to deal with the crisis.
”The sector was on the verge of collapse before this government took office, and Randy did not have the needed experience to deal with the situation. If President Mahama has managed to deal with the economic crisis, stabilise the cedi, reduce inflation, and implement policies that have brought relief to Ghanaians, then Randy Abbey has no excuse to fail. He is incompetent and is only giving excuses for his failure.”
He called for his immediate removal, insisting that there was no need to wait for reshuffling.
”The man should be removed. We should not wait for a reshuffle. He should be removed so that cocoa farmers will have some relief. Family and friends should not be the reason why we keep Randy Abbey at the Board. His ego and arrogance cannot allow him to work. The reforms that the government has introduced will fail if he remains at his post. He is not humble and does not listen.”
”If he had humbled himself and listened to the technocrats who had worked at the Board for years, he would have been guided on what to do to be successful. However, Randy Abbey is arrogant and behaving as if he is all-knowing and powerful; therefore, he will fail.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
