There is a growing concern over the continuous stay in office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey, following the crisis the cocoa sector has experienced in the last few months.
Currently, Ghana’s cocoa sector is grappling with delayed farmer payments, financing challenges, and mounting public frustration.
Amid these challenges, there is a strong call for accountability and responsibility by CDD-Ghana Fellow and Board Member of Ecobank, Dr. Hene Aku Kwapong.
In a sharp analysis of the situation, Dr. Kwapong raises a fundamental question: if the current Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD had gone through a competitive interview process today, would he have been hired? He insists that his issue is not political but managerial.
Leadership Is Stewardship, Not Status
For Dr. Kwapong, “Leadership is not about authority. It is about responsibility.” He argues that there appears to be a stewardship failure at COCOBOD. He maintains that the trust placed in any public officials is to manage institutions that directly affect livelihoods.
In the case of COCOBOD, that trust extends to hundreds of thousands of cocoa farmers whose incomes depend on timely payments and stable sector management.
He says that when the President appoints someone to a role, he is not merely giving them a title, but rather he is entrusting them with stewardship.
According to him, the current crisis in the cocoa sector reflects not just operational stress but a failure of ownership at the top.
When Issues Climb Too High
Dr. Kwapong draws on what he calls “Management 101.” He explains that in well-run institutions, problems are resolved at the level where they arise. They do not repeatedly escalate to the highest office unless strategic intervention is required.
In the case of COCOBOD, he cannot fathom why an operational challenge such as delayed payments to farmers could reach the President’s desk and require emergency intervention from the Finance Ministry.
He believes it signals a breakdown in leadership at the institutional level.
“Here is the management lesson: if the work you assigned to someone consistently finds its way back onto your desk, then something is broken. Not because mistakes were made, mistakes are human, but because ownership was absent. When a leader must step down into the operational trenches to correct what should have been competently handled, it signals a failure of fit,” he argued.
The Misplaced Priorities as Farmers Suffer
For him, the CEO has failed in putting farmers at the center of his operations. Cocoa farmers, he emphasizes, are not peripheral stakeholders. They are the foundation of the industry.
He cannot fathom why they must wait months for payment, while the CEO and the management focus on administrative spending priorities, including reports of high-value vehicle acquisitions.
This, he believes, sends a troubling message about leadership priorities as he insists leadership is tested most when stakeholders are vulnerable.
He says, “Leadership is tested not when things are comfortable, but when stakeholders are vulnerable. Farmers awaiting payment represent the very foundation of the institution. They are not peripheral; they are central. If, under such circumstances, management prioritizes the acquisition of expensive vehicles while farmers remain unpaid, it sends a message, intentional or not, about priorities.”
A Call for Decisive Action
Dr. Kwapong’s conclusion is that if a leader cannot be trusted to fully own the responsibility assigned to them, then the appointing authority must either coach rapidly or replace decisively.
For him, this is not about punishment. It is about protecting institutional purpose.
He therefore believes that in the case of COCOBOD, the president must take decisive action. He maintains that the President must relieve the CEO of his duties.
“If you cannot trust someone to own the responsibility you gave them, then you must either coach them rapidly – or replace them decisively. Because leadership is not about filling positions. It is about protecting purpose. And when purpose is compromised, action must follow,” he stated, adding that “He has disappointed the President.”
In Dr. Kwapong’s view, credibility must be restored before confidence can return.
