GoldBod criticism is about Ghana, not bitterness — Osahen Afenyo-Markin

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has defended its criticism of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), noting that its concerns are motivated by patriotism and not personal attacks on the institution or its Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the caucus is raising concerns about GoldBod because it believed the institution’s operations had implications for Ghana’s economy and public finances.

His comments follow a recent response by Sammy Gyamfi, who accused the Minority Leader of persistently peddling what he described as false claims about GoldBod’s financial performance.

Speaking to the media in Parliament on Tuesday, August 18, Osahen Afenyo-Markin said the Minority’s concerns are based on figures contained in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Ghana.

“We are concerned for our country, and there is the difference. The head of an institution accused of losing GH¢22 billion plus in one year should not be talking about our tone. It should be talking about his ledger,” he said.

The Minority Leader rejected claims that the caucus is motivated by bitterness or hatred towards GoldBod officials.

He said the figures being cited by the Minority are not generated by the caucus but were contained in an IMF report published in August 2026.

According to him, the government had also not publicly disputed the findings contained in the report.

The Minority Leader further said the caucus would continue to scrutinise GoldBod and raise concerns it believes are in the national interest.

“If IMF facts sound personal to the GoldBod and its officials, the problem is not ours. The problem is what the facts say,” he said.

Osahen Afenyo-Markin also referred to a reported GH¢1.7 billion loss associated with GoldBod, insisting that the figure should be openly discussed rather than treated as a minor accounting issue.