The appointment of Dr. Randy Abbey as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has sparked mixed reactions from stakeholders in the industry with some describing the decision as a departure from the norm.
Some stakeholders cannot fathom why a media and sports personality will be appointed to head COCOBOD, an institution that naturally requires someone with an agriculture and cocoa background.
Co-convener of the Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform and Co-founder of EcoCare Ghana, Obed Owusu-Addai describes the appointment as out of the ordinary.
Reacting to the appointment in an interview on Citi Business News which was monitored by The High Street Journal, Obed Owusu-Addai however indicated that there might be a potential advantage of his leadership.
Considering the current challenges of the country’s cocoa sector, there is a need for new ideas and decisive strategies to help transform the sector.
He is therefore calling on all stakeholders to give Dr. Randy Abbey the benefit of the doubt as he assumes office. In his view, it is very likely that an outsider could be the savior of COCOBOD with fresh perspectives.
He said, “We see the appointment of Dr. Randy Abbey as unconventional, but sometimes, an outsider brings a certain fresh perspective that is needed to drive change, and the truth is that the cocoa sector needs change.”
The cocoa farmer also admonished the new acting CEO to bring all stakeholders on board and listen to their views.
“The sector needs a bold, concise, and decisive approach, so maybe he will bring this perspective into the sector, but we will need him to be a listening CEO,” he indicated.
Meanwhile, the staff of COCOBOD are expressing their excitement over the selection of Dr. Randy Abbey as the new Acting CEO.
The staff believes he is a seasoned leader and corporate strategist whose expertise in corporate governance, management, and strategic communication could be very useful to COCOBOD.
As the dust settles on his appointment, all eyes will be on Dr. Randy Abbey to see how he navigates this new role and whether he can live up to the challenge of transforming Ghana’s cocoa industry.
