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The
General
Agriculture
Workers
Union
(GAWU)
has
called
on
government
to
set
a
quota
system
for
local
businesses
to
thrive
in
the
cocoa
sector.
According
to
GAWU,
the
quota
system
should
include
the
provision
of
stimulus
packages
to
support
these
local
businesses
in
the
sector.
General
Secretary
of
GAWU,
Edward
Kareweh
said
this
at
a
validation
meeting
organised
by
GAWU
in
Accra
on
July
9.
According
to
GAWU,
its
findings
indicate
that
there
are
over
791,
000
farmers
in
the
cocoa
sector.
However,
these
farmers
do
not
have
access
to
welfare
insurance
packages
and
a
pension
system.
According
to
the
findings,
though
Ghana
accrued
over
2
billion
dollars
in
cocoa
between
2018
to
2021,
processing
of
the
product
for
local
consumption
has
become
a
major
setback.
Of
a
major
concern
to
GAWU
is
the
role
of
multinationals
in
destroying
the
cocoa
farms
to
the
detriment
of
the
Ghanaian
economy.
Again,
the
lack
of
capacity
by
local
businesses
to
compete
with
the
multinational
companies
in
the
sector
has
become
a
problem.
Mr
Edward
Kareweh
believes
the
quota
system
will
help
resolve
the
challenges
in
the
cocoa
industry.
“A
quota
system
will
be
good
to
start
with,
but
I
think
that
we
need
to
constantly
upgrade
it,
the
attitude
of
even
our
own
government
and
government
officials
even
when
they
are
even
looking
for
consultants,
they
don’t
go
in
for
local
consultants
they
go
in
foreign
consultants.”
“When
they
are
looking
for
companies
to
construct
roads
which
domestic
companies
are
constructing
our
roads
which
domestic
companies
are
holding
a
major
part
of
the
economy,
even
if
you
come
to
the
banking
industry
through
our
own
deliberate
policies,
we
collapsed
local
banks
and
allowed
foreign
banks
to
flourish,
we
need
to
take
it
sector
by
sector
and
deliberately
support
local
companies
to
grow,”
he
urged.
Former
General
Secretary
of
GAWU,
Kingsley
Offei
Nkansah,
suggested
a
conducive
regulatory
environment
to
support
cocoa
farmers
in
the
country.
“Regarding
the
cocoa
sector,
we
are
interested
not
only
in
those
in
formal
employment,
but
we
are
also
interested
in
the
800,000
cocoa
farmers
who
also
are
working
people
and
should
enjoy
better
conditions
in
terms
of
remuneration,
occupational
safety
and
health
and
social
security,
especially
pension,
maternity
protection
for
the
women,”
he
said.
Country
Programme
Director
for
Solidarity
Center,
an
affiliate
of
the
International
Labour
Organization,
Deddeh
Tulay
spoke
about
plans
to
engage
the
government
of
Ghana
for
a
better
condition
of
service
for
the
workers
in
the
sector.
“Some
employers
paying
workers
below
the
minimum
wage,
some
workers
provided
with
plantation,
some
workers
provided
with
housing
without
bathrooms
and
so
the
issues
range
from
low
wages,
lack
of
safety
protection
so
the
Solidarity
Center
through
the
Union,
is
helping
workers
to
advance
their
rights,”
he
said.
The
theme
for
the
meeting
was
“collective
bargaining
and
organizing
in
transnationally
owned
cocoa
sector.”