Government
votes
15
billion
cedis
to
cover
scholarships
for
wards
of
cocoa
farmers
Nyinahin
(Ash),
Dec
12,
GNA
–
The
government
has
contributed
a
total
of
15
billion
cedis
into
a
scholarship
scheme
for
cocoa
farmers
children
whiles
about
800
million
dollars
has
also
been
released
for
the
payment
of
bonuses
for
cocoa
farmers.
Mr
Isaac
Osei,
Chief
Executive
Officer
of
the
Ghana
Cocoa
Board
(COCOBOD)
who
disclosed
this
at
Nyinahin
when
he
toured
the
Atwima-Mponua
district
at
the
weekend,
said
these
were
part
of
government’s
measures
to
see
to
the
welfare
of
cocoa
farmers
who
provide
the
lifeblood
of
the
country’s
economy.
He
therefore
warned
that
any
Licensed
Buying
Company
(LBC)
which
purchased
cocoa
from
farmers
and
refused
to
pay
them
their
bonuses
would
be
blacklisted.
Mr
Osei
pledged
that
his
administration
would
see
to
it
that
wards
of
cocoa
farmers
in
deprived
cocoa
producing
areas
benefited
from
the
scholarship
scheme.
Mr
Wilberforce
Owusu-Ansah,
the
District
Chief
Executive
for
the
area,
said
the
district
has
employed
a
total
of
1,114
youth
in
the
mass
cocoa
spraying
exercise
to
augment
the
gangs
so
that
all
cocoa
farms
can
be
sprayed.
The
DCE
told
the
farmers
to
report
to
his
office
any
cocoa
sprayer
who
demands
money
or
other
gifts
as a
pre-condition
to
spray
their
farms,
for
immediate
disciplinary
action
to
be
taken.
Cocoa
farmers
in
the
district
for
their
part,
called
on
the
COCOBOD
to
expedite
action
on
their
applications
to
secure
scholarships
for
their
children
since
none
had
benefited
from
the
scheme
since
its
inception.
GNA
