Management trims salaries by up to 20% as financial strain deepens, but lawmaker says savings barely dent board’s multibillion-cedi debt……
The leadership of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced salary reductions for its top officials and senior staff as the country’s cocoa industry grapples with mounting liquidity pressures.
In a statement issued Monday, the board said the pay cuts take immediate effect and will remain in place for the rest of the 2025/2026 crop season.
Under the new arrangement, members of executive management will forgo 20 percent of their salaries, while senior staff have agreed to a 10 percent reduction.
According to the board, the move forms part of a broader internal cost-control strategy.
“This decision and other cost-cutting measures in procurement and a staff rationalisation exercise are aimed at reducing the overall expenditure of COCOBOD and aligning cost with revenue,” the statement said.
Lawmaker Questions Impact
However, the effectiveness of the measure has already drawn scepticism.
Kennedy Osei Nyarko, Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, argued that the salary adjustments would make only a marginal difference to the board’s financial position.
In a Facebook post reacting to the announcement, Nyarko said internal checks suggest the pay cuts would generate roughly five million Ghana cedis in monthly savings.
“With COCOBOD’s current indebtedness to the LBCs, it will take 183 years of pay cuts before they can pay the 11 billion they owe,” he wrote, referring to debts owed to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs).
Bailout Calls Grow
Nyarko maintained that the scale of the crisis facing Ghana’s cocoa regulator requires more than administrative austerity.
According to him, a government-backed financial rescue package would be a more realistic solution to stabilise the industry, which remains central to Ghana’s export earnings and rural livelihoods.
The developments underscore the financial strain within Ghana’s cocoa value chain, as rising costs, debt burdens and revenue challenges continue to weigh on one of the country’s most strategic sectors.
Whether salary cuts and internal restructuring will be enough to restore stability or whether a broader fiscal intervention becomes inevitable remains to be seen.
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