GoldBod has made personal attacks a pattern against critics – Akosua Manu

A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) national communications team, Akosua Manu, has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of resorting to personal attacks against individuals who question its operations.

She said the alleged attacks had been directed at several critics, including former Deputy Minister of Finance Abena Osei-Asare and Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, amid the ongoing controversy over reported losses linked to the Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme.

Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Monday, August 24, the 2024 NPP Adentan parliamentary candidate said the response from GoldBod officials to questions about the reported losses had shifted attention from the substance of the concerns.

She said the GoldBod CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, had previously dismissed questions raised by former Deputy Minister of Finance Abena Osei-Asare and former Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, noting that a similar approach was now being used against Mr Afenyo-Markin.

“What am I saying? It establishes a pattern. Anybody who questions GoldBod or BoG, for as long as GoldBod is in the conversation, you are going to face personal attacks and insults,” she said.

Akosua Manu said the alleged attacks should not distract the public from the substantive questions surrounding the reported $1.7 billion losses associated with the programme.

She also challenged the GoldBod management to explain how the institution could report significant benefits and simultaneously be linked to substantial losses under the programme.

The NPP communicator further criticised Mr Gyamfi over what she described as previous controversial claims and allegations against public figures and other individuals.