Dormaa Municipal Assembly holds meeting to discourage cocoa smuggling

Dormaa Municipal Assembly has, in pursuance of its commitment to discourage smuggling of Ghana’s cocoa across its common borders with La Cote d’Ivoire, held a meeting with relevant stakeholders in the industry at Dormaa-Ahenkro.

The participants were briefed on roles expected of them in fighting the canker.

They included purchasing clerks from Dormaa and Nkran-Kwanta cocoa districts, Assembly members, chief farmers, security agencies, members of the Assembly’s cocoa smuggling Task Force and staff of Quality Control Division of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

Mr. Vincent Oppong Asamoah, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), who presided, said the meeting was prompted by the Assembly’s desire to curb negative activities in the industry “that are not helping the municipality”.

He said apart from the negative impact on the Municipality’s finances, such activities deprived eligible Cocoa Board Scholarship beneficiaries of the facility, as the chunk of cocoa from the area did not bear the name of Dormaa.

The MCE said the practice further put stress on the Cocoa Spraying Exercise as the gangs and chemicals supplied for the job did not commensurate the number of cocoa farms in the area.

The Assembly has therefore declared that all cocoa beans emanating from the area should be sealed under Dormaa’s name so that the Municipality could derive maximum benefit from the industry.

Source: GNA