The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s COCOBOD, Dr. Randy Abbey, has announced plans to conduct a comprehensive payroll audit as part of efforts to reduce operational costs and restore financial discipline within the institution.
Speaking during an interview on Hot Issues over the weekend, Dr. Abbey disclosed that COCOBOD currently has over 10,000 people on its payroll, with monthly staff wages estimated at a staggering $12 million USD.
“COCOBOD has over 10,000 people on its payroll, and our staff costs is $12 million USD each month,” he said.
“We are going to do a staff audit to ascertain whether we are all human beings,” he added candidly, pointing to possible payroll irregularities and the presence of ghost names.
Addressing concerns about the sustainability of COCOBOD’s financial model, Dr. Abbey emphasized the need for fiscal discipline and responsible management.
“Once there is discipline and we cut down waste, we should be fine. It’s gross mismanagement that puts COCOBOD in a terrible financial situation.”
He attributed much of the organization’s current financial woes including a reported GHC33 billion debt to procurement mismanagement and a failure by previous administrations to implement needed reforms.
Dr. Abbey also welcomed the recent appreciation of the Ghana cedi, noting that it could ease the burden of COCOBOD’s external debt obligations.
In addition to the payroll audit, COCOBOD is reviewing stockpiles of jute sacks and cooperating with the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to trace 200 missing containers of cocoa-related supplies.
These reforms, Dr. Abbey stressed, are aimed at restoring accountability, improving operational efficiency, and rebuilding confidence in Ghana’s cocoa sector.
