The Minority Caucus in Parliament has launched a fierce attack on President John Dramani Mahama following his decision to assent to the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, into law despite widespread objections.
Speaking exclusively on Rainbow Radio’s flagship news programme, Nyankonton Mu Nsem, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, expressed deep disappointment at the President’s failure to address critical flaws in the legislation before signing it.
Dr Opoku, who doubles as the Co-Chairman of the NPP Policy Committee on Agriculture, revealed that key actors across the cocoa value chain were bypassed during the drafting and parliamentary approval stages.
He highlighted major industry groups, including the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, the Ghana National Best Cocoa Farmers Association, and various Licensed Buying Companies, as having been sidelined throughout the process.
Stressing the long-term impact of the new legislation, the Ranking Member pointed out that because the law will govern the sector for generations, comprehensive scrutiny and broad-based stakeholder engagement should have been non-negotiable.
He disclosed that the Minority had identified at least eight contentious provisions requiring thorough review, but accused the government of flatly refusing to entertain any alternative viewpoints.
Dr Opoku further cautioned the Ghanaian electorate against granting any single political party an overwhelming majority in Parliament, warning that such unbalanced power severely undermines democratic accountability. He asserted that the NDC administration is currently leveraging its numerical strength in the House to railroad controversial measures that ultimately harm the nation’s interest.
“It is deeply unfortunate that President John Dramani Mahama chose to ignore our explicit warnings and signed the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill into law without addressing its fundamental defects. This is a piece of legislation that will govern our cocoa sector for generations to come, yet key actors who form the backbone of the industry—including the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, the Ghana National Best Cocoa Farmers Association, and our Licensed Buying Companies—were completely sidelined and denied a voice in this process.”
“We identified at least eight critical provisions in this bill that required thorough review and amendments before it was fit to be assented to, but the government flatly refused to listen to the Minority’s concerns. This is precisely why we must urge Ghanaians never again to hand any political party an overwhelming majority in Parliament. When a government enjoys such unchecked numerical strength, it uses it to railroad flawed, detrimental measures through the House, severely crippling democratic accountability and undermining the best interests of our nation.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
