GoldBod cannot escape scrutiny over $1.7bn DGPP loss — Kofi Tonto

Kofi Tonto

A member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) national communications team, Kofi Tonto, has rejected claims that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) cannot be linked to the reported $1.7 billion loss under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).

He argued that GoldBod, as a state agency involved in the programme, must account for how it performed after receiving funds from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to purchase gold.

His comments follow a rebuttal by GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, who challenged Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to identify where in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report GoldBod was accused of making the reported loss.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, August 20, Tonto said the argument that GoldBod was not responsible for the loss did not adequately address the agency’s role in the programme.

“You can do whatever you want to do, and you cannot take away the role of GoldBod in this discussion,” he said.

He also disputed arguments that the expansion of the gold purchasing programme justified the losses recorded under it.

According to him, the NDC had criticised the previous implementation of the policy and promised that the programme will be managed more efficiently when they take over government.

“The promise was that you[NDC] will do it better. There will be no losses. The promise was that there is no reason why we should sell gold and make losses,” he said.

The NPP communicator further argued that the financial implications of the reported losses had a direct impact on the Bank of Ghana’s balance sheet and could ultimately require recapitalisation.

Meanwhile, GoldBod has maintained that the $1.7 billion loss was incurred by the Bank of Ghana through the sale of gold purchased under the programme and was not a loss recorded by GoldBod.