Ghana’s COCOBOD CEO, has indicated the institutions intent to undertake a planned comprehensive payroll audit as part of measures to weed out discrepancies within the organization’s operational costs.
During an interview on Hot issues over the weekend, Dr. Abbey stated that COCOBOD’s staff capacity exceeds 10,000, with a whooping monthly staff wages purging approximately $12 million USD.
“COCOBOD has over 10,000 people on its payroll, and our staff costs is $12 million USD each month.”
“We are going to do a staff audit to ascertain whether we are all human beings,” he remarked candidly, highlighting suspicions around payroll irregularities and ghost names.
When asked about the sustainability of COCOBOD’s financial model, Dr. Abbey noted that fiscal discipline and responsible management would be key to turning the organization around.
“Once there is discipline and we cut down waste, we should be fine. It’s gross mismanagement that puts COCOBOD in a terrible financial situation,” he said.
Dr. Abbey further attributed COCOBOD’s financial woes to procurement mismanagement and the failure of previous leadership to implement the institution’s financial turnaround strategy.
He added that the appreciation of the Ghana cedi would help reduce external debt burdens.
As part of broader reforms, COCOBOD is also auditing stockpiled jute sacks and is cooperating with the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to locate 200 missing containers of cocoa-related supplies.
With COCOBOD already reeling under a GHC33 billion debt, Dr. Abbey’s measures aim to restore accountability, rebuild confidence, and improve operational efficiency within Ghana’s cocoa sector.
