Accra, Feb. 13, – The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament has allegedly rejected chocolate gifts offered by the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Dzifa Gomashie, during National Chocolate Week in protest against government’s reduction of the cocoa producer price.
The Minority argues that the recent “haircut” in the producer price from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag has deepened the hardship of cocoa farmers and undermined their livelihoods.
Contributing to a statement by Mrs Gomashie to commemorate Chocolate Week, which coincides with Valentine’s Day on February 14, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, NPP MP for Bosome-Freho, said distributing chocolates to MPs was inappropriate at a time when farmers were aggrieved over reduced earnings.
Jerry Ahmed Shaib, NPP MP for Weija-Gbawe, further alleged that some cocoa farmers had begun cutting down their cocoa trees in protest against the slashed producer prices.
However, Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, Mr Mahama Ayariga, rebuked the Minority for “inciting” cocoa farmers, insisting that chocolate consumption is essential to sustaining the cocoa value chain. He joked that if everyone stopped eating chocolate, “who would fund the farmers?”
In a light-hearted aside, Mr Ayariga teased that Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh had secretly pocketed some of the chocolates and playfully urged parliamentary security to search his pockets, drawing laughter in the chamber.
The cocoa price cut has triggered widespread public debate, with some Ghanaians backing the reforms as necessary for stabilising the sector, while others criticise government for failing to honour its earlier pricing commitments to farmers.
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