NDC study admits 2020 defeat partly due to cocoa sector initiatives -Fadi Dabbousi
It is a matter of course that good things last long and their resonance continues as ripples in the conscience of people who possess a sense of gratitude for initiatives that have an indelible form of amelioration in their lives. That, effectively translated into a resounding victory in the 2020 elections.
The Ghanaian cocoa sector had not seen much development for decades in spite of the billions of US Dollars that have come through until the advent of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In days past, moneys would roll into the bank accounts of the Cococa Board and go through unholy channels into people’s pockets, licitly and illicitly, as the status quo, allegedly, was during John Mahama’s tenure as President. Then came the squandering of much needed foreign exchange by Opuni of the NDC and his corrupt assigns to the point where the wrong fertilizer was imported, which killed cocoa trees or inhibited the growth of the crop. That, of course, notwithstanding the wrong policies and the heavy indebtedness that was inherited by the Akufo-Addo government.
Now, here is where it gets better! The current Chief Exceutive Officer, known for his penchant for research and fact-finding, began a series of innovations that ultimately brought relief to farmers. When the price of cocoa slumped to unprecedented lows, His Excellency the President refused to reduce the farmgate price for fear of the adversities that such a move would translate into. The incompetent losers of the NDC who were responsible for the near collapse of the cocoa sector during their tenure went up in arms exerting pressure on the government to reduce the price. You see, that is their stock in trade; they push for an agenda and if it gets done, will turn around to blame the government of Akufo-Addo for the resulting consequences. So, yes, the President and the CEO of Ghana Cocobod stood their ground, and no, they did not walk into the NDC trap.
Hon Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the CEO (current), introduced various initiatives to nip destructive practices in the bud; cocoa farmers were transforming cocoa farms into rubber and cashew plantations. Of course, over the course of eight years, his initiatives in this regard are innumerable, the most pertinent of them being pollination, trimming, and non-toxic fertilizer. You see, pollination is a very helpful method of increasing production and is a main component of the cocoa growing industry. However, the timing and method was lost on the NDC educated illiterates that they almost caused the collapse of the industry with the use of unwise methods and wrong timing. Then again, what at all do they have to offer Ghanaians when all their buccal effusions point to foolishness, and senseless personal attacks on their opponents for no reason other than their desperation to be seen active. A silent wise man working to ameliorate the living standards of his people is incomparably worth much more than the loud confusion of an empty “konko-head” bereft of the slightest iota of sense; konko-head means a head that rattles and rings like an empty can (kin kin ki kin, kin kin ki kin).
To clarify and emphasise the lack of patriotism and loyalty of the NDC fools to mother Ghana, their leader, John Dramani Mahama, cannot hold his bowels when he shows up at any function. He freely contradicts himself having made opposing statements in the painful past when he was president of this country. The NDC always distort facts, hoping that their incessant insults on this nation would not be remembered. One thing that John Mahama has forgotten is that Ghanaians do not have short memories anymore. Today he is campaigning on restoring electricity to a nation that has fixed its electricity supply under the NPP when he left us in dumsor for four excruciating years during which the lights could remain off for 36 hours at a go. Chai, never again!
To make matters worse, when the CEO of cocobod announced that he was not going for a syndicated loan to conduct this year’s cocoa business, the NDC made the loudest noise as empty barrels, accusing him of having collapsed the cocoa business. Their claim was that the cocobod is no longer a viable entity that has lost its credibility making it unappealing to foreign lenders to finance it. The truth of the matter is that for so many years we have made fools of ourselves in this country to the extent that Ghana has consistently earned awards as the most persistent borrower of cocoa funds, and loyal country to the colonialists.
This disgusting trend informed the drastic decision by the CEO to wean the cocoa industry off moneys borrowed at high interest rates from the slavers and colonialists who until this day continue to employ slavish means to subjugate Ghanaians even if that came at the cost of our freedom and lives. They have always been leeches and this is the time to support the CEO of Cocobod in his bid to save the face of Ghana! His plan, among others is to raise funds domestically as he sets the stage for spot trading that will double the profits of the cocoa industry.
Spot is much more profitable than future trading, the latter being a sale at today’s price with a planned supply when the crop becomes available at a future date, an age-old modality of financing the cocoa business, which has never brought full benefit to the cocoa farmer. Usually, the price of the futures” is almost half that of the “Spots”. Spot trading, on the other hand, means that the cocoa beans are available in stock and are being conveniently traded on the international market at double the price.
So, which modality would you opt for; the one that tags us with shame as the best borrowers amongst our peers in the cocoa business or independence from colonial financing, which will bring double the income and ultimately inure to the benefit of the cocoa farmer? And to make matters more scintillating, the CEO, under instruction from His Excellency the President, increased the farm gate price to $2,481 USD per tonne that being approximately GHs40,000.
I do not think there is more to the meaning of patriotism to Ghana and care for the cocoa farmers than this mindset of maximizing profits for the nation. If you do not see anything good in everything good, then you do not know the meaning of good or have never seen the face of goodness!
Source : Fadi Dabbousi
