The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Randy Abbey, has rejected calls from the Minority in Parliament demanding his removal, asserting that the current challenges in the cocoa sector are the result of policies inherited from the previous administration.
The Minority had criticised ongoing reforms, including the reduction in the cocoa producer price, claiming the measures shortchange farmers and worsen their situation. In response, they called for Dr. Abbey’s dismissal.
Speaking on Thursday, February 12, 2026, Dr. Abbey defended the current funding system, explaining that it was not introduced by his administration but inherited from the 2024/2025 cocoa season.
“The model that we are using today is not a model that I created. It is a model that we inherited, which was used in the 2024/2025 season,” he said.
Dr. Abbey further highlighted that the long-standing syndicated loan model, which had financed cocoa purchases for 32 years, collapsed during the 2023/2024 season under the previous government.
“For the first time in the history of the loan, the first tranche hit the COCOBOD account on December 22. COCOBOD had defaulted on its loans and, under the DDEP, asked for the deferment of the debt and a haircut, among others. That is how the syndicated loan collapsed, and that is how this funding model came up with the buyers,” he explained.
He added that upon assuming office, his team assessed the inherited system and concluded it was unsustainable, prompting the introduction of a new model for cocoa purchases.
“We came in and we realised that this model was not sustainable. We therefore needed a new model, and that is what we were working towards,” Dr. Abbey said.
