Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Esq., has launched a scathing attack on the government, accusing it of deliberately influencing sections of the media to mute critical voices over the marginal increase in cocoa producer prices.
According to Mr. Assafuah, despite bold campaign promises to significantly raise cocoa prices to improve the livelihoods of farmers, the government has failed to deliver, adding a meagre GH¢128 per bag — a figure he described as “an insult” compared to the GH¢2,900 per bag promised.
In a strongly worded statement copied to Purefmonlinegh.com, Lawyer Assafuah alleged that instead of addressing the concerns of farmers, the government has resorted to financially inducing some media houses to avoid probing the glaring shortfall in the promised increments.
“This is what you promised the people of Ghana. Today, you couldn’t even honour up to 10% of that promise, yet you have paid some media houses not to question this failure,” he wrote.
He noted that the muted media response to what he described as “the lowest cocoa price increase since 2016” is a deliberate ploy to divert attention from the government’s inability to meet its own target.
“The media should be the voice of the voiceless farmers who toil daily, but today, that voice has been compromised,” he added.
Mr. Assafuah is demanding transparency and accountability in the cocoa pricing mechanism and has called on independent media outlets and civil society to rise above what he termed “state-sponsored silence” to hold the government accountable.
The legislator also reminded stakeholders that cocoa remains the backbone of Ghana’s economy and any attempts to downplay the welfare of farmers will have long-term adverse effects on the nation’s development.
