‘Remain focused’ — NDC Regional Chairmen declare support for Sammy Gyamfi over $1.7bn GoldBod loss debate

The sixteen Regional Chairmen of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have declared their full support for the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, amid what they describe as a coordinated campaign by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its parliamentary minority to discredit his work and the institution.

In a statement issued on behalf of the NDC’s regional executives, constituency structures and rank-and-file members across the country, the chairmen said Mr Gyamfi had demonstrated strong leadership in transforming GoldBod into a fully functional state institution in a relatively short period.

GoldBod built at record speed
According to the regional chairmen, within barely a year and a half, GoldBod had moved from a policy concept into an operational state institution.

They cited the passage of enabling legislation, constitution of the Board and management, introduction of licensing and traceability regimes, establishment of assay and export systems, and the implementation of governance and accountability structures.

The chairmen also pointed to GoldBod’s audited annual accounts, prepared by the Auditor-General and published for public scrutiny, as evidence of the institution’s commitment to transparency.

‘Results the whole country can see’

The NDC executives argued that GoldBod’s operations had contributed to the recovery of Ghana’s economy, which they claimed had been left in a difficult position by the previous NPP administration.

They said gold that previously leaked out of the country through smuggling and opaque channels was now being traded, aggregated and exported through a state-controlled mechanism.

According to them, the foreign exchange generated through GoldBod’s operations had supported the stability of the cedi, strengthened Ghana’s reserves and boosted confidence in the market.

They further stated that mining communities in the Western, Ashanti, Eastern, Central, Savannah and Upper regions were experiencing improvements in fairness and transparency in the gold trade.

Regional chairmen reject NPP criticism
The chairmen described the NPP’s criticism of Mr Gyamfi and GoldBod as an attack on performance rather than genuine parliamentary accountability.

“Genuine parliamentary scrutiny is welcome,” they said, arguing that GoldBod had responded to questions with published and audited figures.

They accused the NPP of attempting to smear Mr Gyamfi and discredit an institution whose successes, in their view, expose the failures of programmes implemented by the previous administration.

The NDC chairmen said they condemned what they described as an attack on GoldBod and its performance indicators.

‘Remain focused’ – message to Sammy Gyamfi

The regional chairmen urged the GoldBod CEO to remain focused and avoid distractions from his critics.

They encouraged him to proceed with GoldBod’s agenda, including the expansion of licensed aggregation, refining and value addition, as well as the implementation of a traceability and responsible-sourcing framework.

They said these initiatives were important to Ghana’s ambition of becoming a gold-trading hub for the sub-region and ensuring that Ghanaians derived greater benefits from the country’s gold resources.

GoldBod compared to NPP’s Agyapa deal

The statement also contrasted GoldBod with the controversial Agyapa Royalties arrangement proposed under the former NPP government.

The chairmen argued that under the Agyapa arrangement, a substantial share of Ghana’s future gold royalties would have been mortgaged to an offshore special-purpose vehicle in exchange for an upfront payment.

They said the proposal was rejected by civil society, the Special Prosecutor at the time and the Ghanaian public.

“GoldBod is the opposite of Agyapa: it keeps our gold, its value and its governance here in Ghana, under Ghanaian law and Ghanaian scrutiny,” the statement said.

The sixteen Regional Chairmen subsequently reaffirmed their confidence in Mr Gyamfi and GoldBod, calling on party members to disregard what they described as misinformation and to support the institution and its CEO.