Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the government of attempting to divert public attention from the ongoing controversy surrounding the Cocoa sector and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), with the Government announcing a major reduction in the producer price paid to farmers.
According to him, the administration is under pressure over the cocoa matter and is therefore seeking alternative narratives to shift focus.
Addressing a press briefing on February 16, he said, “There is a matter that is making government have sleepless nights, and government is struggling so government is finding a way to divert attention.”
He claimed there were deliberate efforts to get members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to change the subject of public discourse.
“So somewhere, I’m reading, there is an attempt to get NPP to discuss a different matter. And then one person said, guys, though this matter may be true don’t talk about it. Focus on the cocoa.”
Drawing from his experience as a former Majority Leader, Afenyo-Markin suggested that governments under pressure often look for survival tactics.
“I’ve been a majority leader before, so I know that sometimes when you are hot you must find a way to survive, but sometimes our friends don’t get it.”
He further alleged that even arrests could be used as a strategy to shift attention.
“Government can even arrest somebody as a way of diverting attention.”
Government also announced a comprehensive forensic and criminal audit into the activities of COCOBOD covering the past eight years, citing what it described as the most precarious financial situation in the institution’s history.
Referring to the planned audit, he argued that the core issue should remain the payment of cocoa farmers rather than alleged procurement breaches.
“You remember when the cocoa, they said they should investigate the 8 years. The thing has nothing to do with whether someone has done wrong or not, they said pay the cocoa farmers. That has nothing to do with if there are procurement breaches as you allege.”
He urged the media to remain focused on the cocoa issue and resist what he described as attempts to derail the conversation.
“Stay the course. When they bring something in, know that its a trap.”
