The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced plans to conduct a comprehensive internal audit of its staff strength to determine the exact number of employees on its payroll and assess the relevance of their roles within the institution.
The exercise will establish whether the regulator’s workforce exceeds 10,000 permanent staff and evaluate whether employees are appropriately assigned to their portfolios as part of broader reforms within the cocoa sector.
The Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Jerome Sam, confirmed the development in an interview with Citi Business News, explaining that the audit forms part of measures being pursued by the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Randy Abbey, to reposition the institution.
According to him, the new management inherited what it considers an ailing cocoa sector and is determined to implement reforms that will restore efficiency and long-term sustainability.
“It is not even about the numbers. If we unearth that the over 10,000 staff are each productive and efficient in what they are doing, that is fine,” he said.
He added, however, that if a forensic or Human Resource audit reveals that the institution can operate effectively with a significantly smaller workforce — whether 5,000, 1,000 or even 500 employees — and still guarantee the sustenance of the industry, appropriate decisions would be taken.
Mr. Sam stressed that the Chief Executive is committed to leaving behind a buoyant and viable cocoa industry and that the audit would go beyond simply verifying staff numbers.
“The HR audit will ascertain whether we indeed have over 10,000 permanent staff, as the Chief Executive was presented with. Beyond that, it will determine whether all these staff members warrant the portfolios they currently occupy. This is important, and it will be done,” he stated.
The planned review comes at a time when COCOBOD is implementing austerity measures in response to liquidity challenges within the cocoa sector.
As part of cost-cutting efforts, members of the Executive Management have taken a 20 per cent salary reduction, while Senior Staff have accepted a 10 per cent pay cut.
At a recent press briefing, Dr. Abbey disclosed that the institution currently operates with approximately 10,200 permanent staff and about 8,000 contract and casual employees across its subsidiaries and divisions, bringing the total workforce to over 18,000.
The outcome of the internal audit is expected to guide possible restructuring measures aimed at improving operational efficiency, reducing expenditure, and strengthening the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa industry.
