Parliament has taken The Ghana Cocoa Board (Amendment), Bill 2017 through the second reading to amend PNDCL 81 that established Ghana Cocoa Board.
The Bill is seeking to amend Section 39 of PNDCL 81 to vest ministerial responsibility over the activities of COCOBOD in the Minister responsible for Food and Agriculture.
Officials of the Board at the meeting with the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee justified that the “intended change in ministerial responsibility under the Law is to properly focus cocoa production as the foremost function of the Board”.
Presenting the plenary for debate, the Chairman of The Committee, Ben Abdullah Banda said, “in view of the fact that cocoa production is under the remit of the agricultural sector, it is therefore imperative for the Minister responsible for Agriculture to have oversight responsibility over the Ghana Cocoa Board and related matters pertaining to the production of cocoa as an agricultural product”.
The Committee also recognized the fact that the functions of the COCOBOD goes beyond production of the cash crops; the Board is also responsible for the processing and marketing of these crops.
The Committee in its conclusion and recommendation paragraph stated that “the amendment is appropriate and would enhance ministerial responsibility of the Ghana Cocoa Board, and reposition the COCOBOD to deliver the target of producing 1 Million tonnes of cocoa annually.
The Ghana Cocoa Board was established in March 1984 by PNDCL 81 to formulate appropriate policies to facilitate the production, processing and marketing of cocoa, coffee and Shea in the country.
Its functions include production, research, extension, internal and external marketing and quality control of coffee and Shea.
Story filed by Edzorna Francis Mensah
