Security Analyst, Col. Festus Aboagye has disputed claims by the CEO of the Ghana COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo that there is a collusion between Russian Wagner Forces and Burkina Faso to buy smuggled cocoa beans from Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.
CEO of COCOBOD in an interaction with some cocoa farmers in the Ashanti Region last week expressed worry over the smuggling of Ghana’s cocoa to some neighboring countries. Joseph Boahen Aidoo claimed that some unscrupulous Ghanaians are in bed with some foreigners including Russians where the country’s cocoa is smuggled for the purchase of these foreigners.
“Russia has been banned from entering the European market, which has led them to resort to smuggling cocoa. Countries like Burkina Faso and Niger, which do not grow cocoa are now exporting cocoa. Where are they getting it from?,” the CEO of COCOBOD quizzed.
But Col. Festus Aboagye in a policy brief on the issue copied to The High Street Journal described this claim by Mr. Boahen Aidoo as “implying a transnational organized crime” which has serious diplomatic, security, and economic implications.
Subjecting the CEO’s claim to strict proof, Col. Festus Aboagye noted that the data available on the export of cocoa by Burkina Faso is so insignificant that it cannot explain the sharp decline in Ghana’s cocoa production.
Data available, according to the security analyst suggests that Burkina Faso exported cocoa and cocoa products worth US$8400 in 2020, US$11110 in 2022, and US$7500 in 2023. With these figures, Col. Aboagye insisted that “the scale of Burkina Faso’s cocoa exports is too small to account for Ghana’s reported decline in cocoa production and exports.”
On the involvement of Russia, Col. Aboagye explains that Russia already imports cocoa beans primarily from countries such as Estonia, Ecuador, Belgium, and Netherlands with Cote D’Ivoire being the only significant contributor from Africa until Nigeria is set to join this month.
Col. Aboagye believes it is unfair on the part of Ghana to accuse Burkina Faso of smuggling the country’s cocoa adding that the claim of “Russo-Burkina conspiracy amounts to maligning a close neighbor whose collaboration in security matters is critical for the national and regional security.”
He concluded that “based on available data, Ghana’s COCOBOD CEO’s claim that Russia is behind a significant intensification of cocoa smuggling to Burkina Faso appears largely unsubstantiated.”
In his view, the claims overstate the issue with insufficient evidence.
Col. Festus Aboagye is therefore cautioning that Ghana must be meticulous in such accusations against neighboring countries since it has the potential to damage diplomatic relations, hinder regional cooperation, and potentially destabilize the already fragile Sahel Region.
