Ghana cocoa in spotlight as US company Mars wins Secretary of State Award

“I want to congratulate Ghana as the country recently started commercial production of oil, but let me say that cocoa still pays the bills,” the US Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum, said these words during the 12th Annual Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) ceremony at the US Embassy in Accra.

The ceremony which was carried live by satellite took place simultaneously in the US, Guatemala, Israel and Ghana.

The companies were recognised for their contributions to livelihood enhancement, health care and the overall improvement of the communities in which they operate.

Mars a US based Confectioneries company that makes its products from Ghana cocoa won the award for its work among cocoa farmers. The company has worked with cocoa farmers to reduce child labour, as well as initiated programmes to make the cocoa industry sustainable. Mars was selected among 78 nominations around the world for the award.

Jeffrey N. Morgan, the Director – Global Programmes of Mars said the company’s activities in Ghana has improved livelihoods.

According to him, Ghana has the best cocoa in the world.

Making the presentations to three companies, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, American business are the face of America in other parts of the world.

She congratulated the companies for engaging in corporate social responsibility in the communities where they operated.

The other companies that also won awards are CISCO in Israel and Dematrix  in Guatemala.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi