Japhet Festus Gbede, Assemblymember for Wuxor Have and Sremanu Electoral Area and a member of the Communication Team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has asserted that Ghanaians might have faced additional taxes if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were managing the economy amid the current downturn in global cocoa prices.
In a Facebook post addressing ongoing discussions on cocoa pricing, Mr. Gbede argued that the present administration has made a deliberate decision to shield farmers and citizens from new fiscal burdens despite unfavourable conditions on the international market.
He maintained that imposing taxes during a commodity price slump would effectively transfer the impact of external shocks onto local producers, particularly cocoa farmers whose incomes depend heavily on global price movements.
Mr. Gbede praised the approach of President John Dramani Mahama’s government, stating that protecting production and rural livelihoods—rather than introducing what he described as “distortionary taxes”—reflects sound economic management.
He further called on the NPP to provide comparative figures from its time in office, including prevailing world market cocoa prices and the corresponding payments made to farmers, to enable the public to assess the issue based on data.
According to him, national discourse on cocoa pricing must be grounded in transparency and empirical analysis to ensure that policies remain focused on sustaining the sector and safeguarding farmer welfare amid global market volatility.
