The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey, has announced an upcoming payroll audit to ascertain longstanding inefficiencies, suspicions of ghost names, and growing financial discrepancies within the state agency.
Speaking during an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues dated Sunday, May 25, 2025, Dr. Abbey disclosed that COCOBOD’s monthly wage bill currently stands at a staggering $12 million USD, supporting a workforce of over 10,000 people.
The payroll audit forms part of broader reforms being initiated under Dr. Abbey’s leadership to restore fiscal discipline and accountability within COCOBOD. According to him, mismanagement and unchecked expenditures are largely to blame for the organization’s current challenges.
Dr. Abbey emphasized that the agency’s turnaround would require not just audits, but a firm commitment to responsible procurement and budgetary control.
COCOBOD is currently saddled with a debt burden of over GHC33 billion, a situation compounded by allegations of missing agrochemical containers, procurement mismanagement, and a bloated payroll.
Just recently, the CEO revealed that 200 containers of cocoa jute sacks and agrochemicals were unaccounted for, prompting investigations in collaboration with the National Investigations Bureau (NIB).
Dr. Abbey expressed hope that appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi would help ease the external debt pressure, and that systemic reforms—such as the staff audit and inventory reviews—would help place COCOBOD on a path to financial stability.