The Majority in Parliament is pressing President John Dramani Mahama to sign the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill into law immediately, arguing that the legislation is crucial to protecting cocoa farmers’ incomes before the start of the next cocoa season.
The Majority says the Bill will guarantee cocoa farmers 70 per cent of the world market price realised by COCOBOD, and has urged the President not to delay the assent process.
Speaking to Citi News, Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee and Keta MP Kwami Dzudzorli Gakpey said the legislation was passed under a certificate of urgency because of the need to ensure farmers benefit from the new legal framework as soon as possible.
“I will urge the President, as a matter of urgency, to sign the Bill into law, and then we move on because the season is just coming. That is why we took the Bill under a certificate of urgency to satisfy the need,” he said.
Mr Gakpey defended Parliament’s approval of the Bill and dismissed objections raised by the Minority, accusing the opposition of attempting to frustrate the legislation.
He described the Minority’s concerns as “cheap propaganda” and argued that the Bill contains important provisions aimed at strengthening the cocoa sector and improving returns to farmers.
His comments come after the Minority called on President Mahama to return the Bill to Parliament for broader stakeholder consultation, arguing that aspects of the legislation require further engagement before it becomes law.
The dispute has placed the COCOBOD Bill at the centre of a political debate over the future of Ghana’s cocoa sector, with the Majority insisting that immediate assent is necessary to provide certainty for cocoa farmers ahead of the upcoming production season.
