Ghanaian parliament votes to move oversight of the cocoa sector regulator from the Ministry of Trade to the Ministry of Agriculture

This is news but it’s not entirely new. The move has been on the cards since power last changed hands (2017). Moreover, between these two ministers – Owusu Afriyie Akoto in agriculture and Alan “Cash” Kyeremanten in trade and industry – it is the agriculture minister that has been the more prominent in COCOBOD dealings for quite some time. 

Significance: This is a politically sensitive area of policy. Cocoa accounted for around USD2.3 billion in export receipts last year and employs over 800,000 people, according to some estimates. It is the focal point for prominent policies, for example input subsidies, and is associated with patronage, which is especially noteworthy two months from general elections. Meanwhile, as opposed to Afriyie Akoto, Alan Kyeremanten is connected with former president John Agyekum Kufuor’s faction of the ruling New Patriotic Party. There has been something of a detente between this camp and those closest to the president in recent times, nevertheless the respective designations matter.

Conclusion: The recently passed legislation is logical from a sectoral and political standpoint. It underlines much of what we already understood to be the case e.g. Afriyie Akoto’s relative influence in this area and his proximity to principal decision makers: the president, Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta and COCOBOD chief Joseph Boahen Aidoo.

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