Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has attributed the financial distress facing COCOBOD to what he describes as indiscriminate contract awards by the previous administration without any identified funding sources.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, November 14, Dr Forson stated that the current COCOBOD management inherited GH¢32 billion in arrears, an obligation he insists cannot be cleared within a year due to the institution’s limited resources.

He explained that COCOBOD, like any state agency, is responsible for paying for contracts it awards, emphasising that the Finance Ministry cannot assume liabilities it did not create. According to him, past decisions to issue contracts without proper financial backing have placed the institution in a difficult fiscal position.

“When COCOBOD awards a contract, they have to pay the contractors, not the Finance Ministry. The previous government awarded contracts anyhow, without any sources to pay for these contracts.

“The COCOBOD CEO inherited GH¢32 billion worth of arrears. He cannot pay it in one year because he doesn’t have the resources. COCOBOD cannot go out and borrow because of its balance sheet, so how is it supposed to pay that?”

Dr. Forson noted that COCOBOD’s weakened balance sheet has made it impossible for the institution to borrow to ease its financial pressures. This, he argued, leaves the management with no viable means of paying off the massive arrears in the short term.

Adding to the challenge, the Minister revealed that COCOBOD currently has more than 3,000 containers of jute sacks stuck at the Tema Port, materials he said will not be required for at least the next five years.

He described this as further evidence of procurement excesses that have worsened the agency’s financial obligations.