The Member of Parliament for Walewale Constituency, Dr. Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, has expressed deep concern over what he describes as a national emergency confronting cocoa farmers, warning that Ghana risks suffering a resource curse if urgent action is not taken.
According to him, the country does not seem to be getting it right when it comes to our resources like gold and cocoa.
Speaking in Parliament on February 17, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP warned that the economic hardships facing cocoa farmers should not be reduced to partisan debate.
“I rise with heavy heart and a bit disappointed. A bit disappointed in the sense that over one million farmers are suffering as we speak now. But this house has been turned into politics. I am disappointed because these farmers fail to make ends meet every day.”
He stressed that the crisis affects the entire country and must be treated as such.
“This is not a southern issue or a southern issue, it’s a national issue. We are facing a national emergency.”
Dr. Mahama appealed to both sides of the House to treat the matter with urgency and avoid politicising the situation.
“So when we come to this house to discuss it, I will appeal to this side and I’ll appeal to their side to handle this issue with seriousness and we shouldn’t do politics with this issue.”
He further warned that Ghana could be heading toward the “resource curse” fate, which is when resource rich countries fail to translate natural wealth into economic prosperity.
“I am afraid that the resource curse is what we’re going to experience. It cannot be right that Ghana is not getting it right when it comes to our gold and our cocoa. It cannot be right that we’re selling gold and making losses and we’re selling cocoa and making losses.”
He further argued that strategic missteps in the cocoa sector have contributed significantly to the current difficulties.
“Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa. As we speak now, what has caused this problem is purely a misstep of strategy.”
“How do you make your cocoa prices spot price when you know that your market is a foreign market. How do you take a decision as a government to assume that prices are going to increase, and you leave over 70,000 tons of cocoa in the hands of the farmers and you don’t export or sell that, then when prices are crashing you want to blame people.”
He questioned the role of government in safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods.
“If you cannot protect the farmers what is the essence of government?”
