The Minority in Parliament has been accused of embarking on a smear campaign to denigrate distinguished technocrats at COCOBOD, following what critics describe as a failed attempt by some ‘rented farmers’ to tarnish the image of the cocoa regulator.
The accusations come after members of the Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, made wild allegations against the Deputy Chief Executive of COCOBOD in charge of Finance and Administration, Ato Boateng.
Member of Parliament for Old Tafo Vincent Ekow Assafuah has petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to probe what they describe as a potential conflict of interest.
Mr. Assafuah has questioned COCOBOD’s continued business engagement with Atlas Commodities Limited, citing Mr. Boateng’s previous professional association with the company as grounds for concern.
However, Mr. Boateng resigned as a director of Atlas Commodities Limited on January 20, 2025, prior to his appointment to COCOBOD in February 2025. He also transferred all his shares in the company to Edinam Yao Cofie and George Ofori, who now manage them as trustees.
Also, to ensure full transparency and compliance with public service regulations, Mr. Boateng stated that he declared his previous interest in Atlas Commodities in his official Declaration of Assets and Liabilities, which has been duly lodged with the Auditor-General.
Observers argue that the focus on Mr. Boateng ignores his broader professional background, including his previous role at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. In January 2026, the IFC injected more than $100 million, to address a critical funding shortfall in Ghana’s cocoa sector, with potential additional support expected to hit $300 million this year.
Although Mr. Boateng worked with the IFC from August 2007 to October 2015, that one has never been questioned by Mr. Assafuah and his cohorts when COCOBOD secured millions of dollars from the IFC.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ato Boateng in a public statement described the allegation by the Minority as “frivolous” but welcomed the call for investigation.
Critics of the Minority insist that the persistent attacks, by Vincent Ekow Assafuah and his Minority group, are an attempt to manufacture what they describe as a “non-existent scandal,” particularly at a time when COCOBOD is working to manage billions of legacy debts inherited from the erstwhile NPP administration.
A former leading member of the NPP, and now the Director of Field Operations for the United Party, Hopeson Adorye, has described the Minority as being “in deep waters, fishing for a scandal to tag this government. That is all”.
Meanwhile, the attacks on Mr. Ato Boateng is seen as a slap in the face of calls by industry watchers on successive governments to appoint technocrats to manage state institutions.
For instance, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Dr Frank Ackah, recently told The High Street Journal that the cocoa sector requires structural reform and stronger professional leadership.
The agronomist proposed that political nominees should be replaced with independent technocrats.
“Let’s not appoint politicians; let’s bring in technocrats and professionals to run the Cocoa Board,” he argued.
Similarly, Dr. John Kwakye, Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has advocated for competence-based appointments in public institutions.
In a post shared on X last year, he stated: “Public appointments should have a balance between elected politicians and unelected technocrats. Ministers can be politicians. But CEOs of SOEs and regulatory bodies, such as the central bank and accountable institutions, should ideally be technocrats.”
Meanwhile, procurement experts familiar with COCOBOD’s internal systems have dismissed claims that a single official could unilaterally influence contract awards.
COCOBOD prepares a consolidated institutional budget from its various departments.
From this approved budget, a procurement plan is extracted. The procurement plan has to be approved by the entity tender committee as well as the board of COCOBOD.
The procurement processes are governed by the Public Procurement Act and must be approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA).
Supporters of Mr. Boateng argue that targeting technocrats discourages qualified professionals from accepting public appointments and undermines broader calls for merit-based governance.