Afenyo-Markin: GoldBod’s Response Confirms GH¢22bn Loss, Minority Insists on Accountability

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has rejected the response by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, to concerns over the institution’s financial and operational performance, insisting that the reported GH¢22 billion loss under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) must be accounted for.

The Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, made the position known in a statement issued on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, a day after the Minority held a press conference on GoldBod’s financial performance and reported losses under the DGPP.

The statement, titled “Response to the Statement by the Chief Executive of the Ghana Gold Board,” said the Minority had considered Mr Gyamfi’s response delivered through the Government Accountability Series and concluded that it raised rather than resolved questions about the programme.

According to Mr Afenyo-Markin, the GoldBod CEO did not dispute the International Monetary Fund’s reported finding that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme recorded a loss of US$1.7 billion, equivalent to about GH¢22 billion, in 2025.

The Minority Leader argued that Mr Gyamfi’s disagreement centred on who should bear responsibility for the loss, rather than whether the financial loss occurred.

“The GoldBod’s statement this morning confirms more than it rebuts,” the statement said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin stressed that the money involved was public funds and therefore must be accounted for, regardless of which state institution’s balance sheet ultimately bears the loss.

The Minority also challenged GoldBod’s reported operational surplus, pointing to figures provided by Mr Gyamfi regarding the institution’s activities under the programme.

According to the statement, GoldBod accounted for approximately GH¢133 billion in advances in 2025 and was paid an assay fee of 0.258 per cent as well as a service fee of 0.5 per cent.

Based on those figures, the Minority estimated that GoldBod earned approximately GH¢1 billion in fees from the programme.

Mr Afenyo-Markin contrasted this with GoldBod’s reported operational surplus of GH¢907 million, arguing that the surplus was smaller than the fees collected from a programme that, according to the IMF finding cited by the Minority, resulted in a GH¢22 billion loss to the state.

He argued that once the agency fees are removed from the calculation, there would be little or no operational surplus to celebrate.

“Strip out the agency fees, and there is no operational surplus to speak of,” the Minority statement said.

The Minority further accused GoldBod of taking credit for positive economic developments associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme while distancing itself from the programme’s reported losses.

Mr Afenyo-Markin pointed to the reported 41 per cent appreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar, the increase in Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves from US$8.9 billion to US$13 billion, and the decline in inflation.

He said GoldBod had been at the forefront of taking public credit for those outcomes.

However, the Minority Leader argued that an institution that describes itself as a passive agent when costs are considered should not portray itself as an active driver when benefits are being attributed to the programme.

“The same statement credits the scaling up of the DGPP with the 41 per cent cedi appreciation, the rise in reserves from US$8.9 billion to US$13 billion, and the fall in inflation,” the statement noted.

Mr Afenyo-Markin also raised concerns about what he described as changing arrangements for funding the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Plan (GANRAP).

According to the Minority statement, Mr Gyamfi’s own account indicated that responsibility for the cost of implementing GANRAP moved from the Bank of Ghana to the Ministry of Finance in July 2026.

The statement further said that, from August 2026, GoldBod was seeking to raise funds independently.

The Minority Leader questioned the sustainability of what he described as three different funding arrangements within six months, arguing that such changes did not amount to a settled funding model.

The Minority reiterated that the reported GH¢22 billion loss identified in the IMF’s Sixth Country Report must be accounted for.

The statement referred to the IMF report as Sixth Country Report No. 26/213, issued in August 2026, and described the reported amount as a financial loss to the Republic.

“The 22 billion Ghana cedis losses, as reported by the IMF Sixth Country report, numbered 26/213, issued in August 2026, amount to a financial loss to the Republic. It must be accounted for!” the statement said.

The Minority’s position is consistent with its broader demand for GoldBod to account for the full financial implications of its gold-purchasing operations. Reports on the dispute indicate that Afenyo-Markin has questioned why GoldBod should claim credit for foreign-exchange gains associated with the programme while distancing itself from losses linked to the same transactions.

The Minority Leader also criticised the tone of Mr Gyamfi’s response, particularly his reported reference to a “brothel” while addressing the controversy.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said such language was inappropriate for a public official responding to questions concerning public funds.

He argued that Ghanaians had asked for financial figures and explanations and should not be met with insults or personal attacks.

“Ghanaians asked for figures. They were given insults. The figures are still outstanding,” the Minority said in its statement.

The latest exchange deepens the public dispute between the Minority in Parliament and GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi over whether the US$1.7 billion loss reported in connection with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme should be attributed to GoldBod, the Bank of Ghana, or another part of the state’s financial architecture.

Mr Gyamfi has maintained that the reported loss should not be attributed to GoldBod and has challenged the Minority to identify where the IMF report specifically accuses GoldBod of incurring the loss. He has also said he is prepared to appear before Parliament to answer questions on the matter.