Afenyo-Markin urges Mahama to take bold steps, tighten GoldBod controls to prevent future losses
Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the Mahama government to plug all loopholes in the operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to prevent further losses and protect the gains made in stabilising the cedi.
He acknowledged the relative stability of the local currency as a positive development but cautioned that the government must exercise greater prudence in the management of GoldBod to sustain the gains.
“To sustain the gains made, you need to tighten up and put in prudent measures to close all the loopholes in GoldBod's operations,” he said.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Monday, August 31, Mr Afenyo-Markin said his concerns about GoldBod were not motivated by personal or partisan considerations but by the potential impact of the institution’s operations on the wider economy.
He urged the government to review the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, identify weaknesses in its implementation and take corrective measures.
“It is a serious matter that will come back and haunt us and if all of us do not add our voice and speak about the losses, I am sorry we cannot make it.
“This is because in the end, all those losses will hit the very economy very hard and it is time the government took a second look at the domestic gold purchase programme, roll it back to identify the loopholes and fix them,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin made the comments when the Asafo Company Culture Group from Winneba paid a courtesy call on him to express solidarity following various allegations levelled against him.
Demand for transparency
The Minority Leader called on GoldBod to provide greater clarity on the financial details of its gold purchasing operations, including the prices paid to acquire gold, commissions paid, bonuses offered and the prices at which gold was subsequently sold to off-takers.
He also demanded transparency regarding any losses incurred in the process.
“These are specific issues that IMF has raised, which we, the Minority, associate ourselves with,” he said.
He further argued that Ghanaians deserved clarity on the bullion eventually sold by the Bank of Ghana after the assaying process.
‘Not an NPP-NDC matter’
Mr Afenyo-Markin rejected attempts to frame the concerns surrounding GoldBod as another political dispute between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“This is not an NPP-NDC because it is a serious matter that affects bread-and-butter issues and our economy.
“The government is complaining that it does not have money and the fiscal space to accommodate the employment of 6,000 teachers and nurses,” he said.
He said government was also facing difficulties expanding infrastructure in schools while hospitals continued to experience challenges.
“Yet, we have GH¢22 billion going down the drain,” he said.
Responding to the argument that economic policies inevitably come with opportunity costs, Mr Afenyo-Markin said he accepted the principle but insisted that the losses associated with the domestic gold purchase programme required closer scrutiny.
“There must always be an opportunity cost but the International Monetary Fund that audited the implementation of the domestic gold purchase programme is saying to all of us publicly that the losses go beyond the economic cost argument,” he said.
Supports broader probe
On a proposal by the new Majority Leader for investigations into GoldBod to cover the period from the commencement of the domestic gold purchase programme rather than focusing only on 2025, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority would have no objection.
“We are dealing with policy implementation and if anybody wants a broader view of all issues, why not?
“It helps the national cause so that all of us are guided and we, the political leaders or actors, must elevate the conversation and take democracy much more seriously than perhaps we are taking it,” he said.