'There’s a crisis ahead if they don't listen and address our concerns' — Minority on GoldBod

The Minority in Parliament has reiterated its criticism of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), cautioning that the institution could face a crisis if concerns raised about its operations are not addressed.

Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the caucus would continue to scrutinise GoldBod and hold the government and its officials accountable over its operations.

His comments follow a response from GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, who rejected an earlier claim by the Minority Leader that the institution had made losses.

Speaking on Accra-based Peace FM Kokrokoo show on Monday, August 17, the Effutu MP criticised the handling of the institution and cited $1.7 billion losses allegedly contained in an International Monetary Fund report.

However, in a rebuttal, Sammy Gyamfi described the Minority Leader’s claim as a “blatant lie” and said the allegation was based on what he called Osahen Afenyo-Markin’s “hallucinatory imagination”.

In a social media post, the GoldBod CEO cited the institution’s audited 2025 Annual Report and Financial Statements, saying it recorded an operational surplus of GH¢907 million and an overall surplus of GH¢5.4 billion.

Sammy Gyamfi said the report was prepared and published by the Auditor-General and urged the public to rely on the figures contained in the audited accounts.

Speaking at a press conference at Parliament House on Tuesday, August 18, Osahen Afenyo-Markin said the Minority caucus raised its concerns based on a credible report from the IMF.

“The caucus knows its brief, and will not speak and blow hot air. That is the report I have shown you. So now the Ghanaian people will see who is ignorant, who is doing mischief, who is lying to the public,” he said.

The Minority Leader stressed that the Minority’s concerns are part of its broader responsibility to scrutinise public institutions and policies.

“What is happening is bad. There is a crisis ahead of us. Our friends must better listen and pay attention, and not allow the IMF to rather come and talk to them before they listen,” he said.

The Minority Leader said the caucus is not interested in trading insults with GoldBod officials but would continue to raise issues it considered important to the Ghanaian public.

“We are here to hold their feet to the fire and make them accountable to the people of Ghana,” Osahen Afenyo-Markin stressed.