GFL Secretary General calls for revival of abandoned Cocoa Silos at Tema
16th February 2026
The Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has expressed concern over the continued neglect of the cocoa silos at Tema in the Greater Accra Region, describing the situation as a missed strategic opportunity for Ghana’s cocoa industry.
Koomson noted that Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, anticipated potential challenges in the global cocoa market and initiated the construction of large-scale silos to serve as a buffer against international price manipulation.
According to Koomson, the silos were designed to allow Ghana to regulate cocoa supply by storing surplus produce during periods of low global prices and releasing stocks when prices rose. This mechanism would have helped protect national revenue and stabilise earnings for cocoa farmers.
Built in the 1960s at an estimated cost of £8.5 million, the silos had a storage capacity of roughly 200,000 tonnes. They were part of Nkrumah’s broader industrialisation and agricultural self-sufficiency agenda at a time when Ghana accounted for more than 40 percent of global cocoa production, yet remained vulnerable to external market pressures.
However, following the 1966 coup that removed Nkrumah from office, the project was abandoned before it could fulfil its intended purpose, later being dismissed by critics as a “white elephant.”
Speaking on Ahotor FM, Koomson emphasised that Nkrumah’s vision went beyond exporting raw cocoa beans. He cited initiatives such as the establishment of West African Mills to promote local processing and value addition, part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s economic independence.
In light of recent controversies surrounding the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Koomson stressed that cocoa, alongside gold, remains a central pillar of Ghana’s economy and must be managed strategically and transparently.
He urged the government to revisit the abandoned infrastructure and consider reviving or repurposing it to serve national economic interests, asserting that Ghana cannot afford to ignore assets originally conceived to safeguard its economic sovereignty.