Cabinet Moves to Strip COCOBOD of GH¢4.35bn Road Liabilities, Orders Forensic Audit

Government has moved to remove GH¢4.35 billion in road-related liabilities from COCOBOD’s books as part of a sweeping restructuring aimed at stabilising the cash-strapped cocoa regulator and restoring fiscal discipline to the sector.

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson announced the measures at a news conference following a marathon Cabinet meeting convened to address mounting challenges in the cocoa industry.

Under the directive, the remaining road liabilities — rationalised down from an initial exposure of GH¢21.7 billion — will be transferred to the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ministry of Finance for payment.

Massive Contract Exposure Rationalised

Dr. Forson disclosed that between 2014 and 2024, COCOBOD awarded road contracts amounting to GH¢26.5 billion, with GH¢21.5 billion of those commitments signed between 2018 and 2021.

Despite a 2023 agreement under Ghana’s IMF programme to reduce COCOBOD’s road commitments from GH¢21.7 billion to GH¢6.9 billion, the previous board and management failed to execute the rationalisation.

The exercise has now been completed under the joint supervision of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Roads, reducing total exposure from GH¢21.7 billion to GH¢4.35 billion.

Cabinet subsequently directed that the remaining GH¢4.35 billion liability be transferred off COCOBOD’s balance sheet.

“Rural road construction accounted for a significant portion of COCOBOD’s financial difficulties,” the Finance Minister stressed, noting that quasi-fiscal spending outside the regulator’s core mandate had weakened its financial position.

End of Quasi-Fiscal Spending

Dr. Forson announced that a new COCOBOD Bill to be laid before Parliament will prohibit the regulator from undertaking quasi-fiscal expenditures and other non-core spending going forward. The proposed legislation will include sanctions for breaches.

In addition, government has secured a US$500 million World Bank facility to fund agricultural roads, effectively removing that responsibility from COCOBOD and transferring it to central government oversight.

The shift is expected to prevent a recurrence of the off-balance-sheet liabilities that have strained the cocoa regulator’s finances in recent years.

Forensic Audit Ordered

In a further move to enhance accountability, Cabinet has directed the Attorney-General to commission a concurrent forensic audit and criminal investigation into COCOBOD’s activities over the past eight years.

The directive signals a governance reset in the cocoa sector amid concerns over contract awards, expenditure controls and debt accumulation.

Global Price Shock Forces Producer Price Cut

The restructuring comes as global cocoa prices have fallen sharply from an average of US$7,200 per tonne to about US$4,100 per tonne, undermining COCOBOD’s revenue base and worsening liquidity pressures.

To reflect market realities and inject liquidity into the system, the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), chaired by Dr. Forson, has revised the producer price downward for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season.

Effective February 12, 2026, farmers will now receive GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per bag, based on 90 percent of an achieved gross FOB price of US$4,200 per tonne.

The Minister said the adjustment was necessary to align domestic pricing with global market conditions, expedite farmer payments and safeguard the sustainability of the cocoa sector.

Balance-Sheet Reset

The combined measures — liability transfer, expenditure controls, audit action and producer price adjustment — represent one of the most comprehensive financial resets of COCOBOD in decades.

By stripping out road liabilities, banning quasi-fiscal spending and restoring pricing realism, government is seeking to reposition COCOBOD as a commercially disciplined commodity regulator rather than a vehicle for infrastructure financing.

Whether the reforms succeed will depend on strict enforcement of the new fiscal guardrails and the pace of global market recovery.

But for now, the message from Cabinet is clear: COCOBOD’s era of unchecked commitments is over.

 

 

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