Dafeamekpor Accuses IMF of ‘Anti-NDC’ Bias Over GoldBod Report

Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has launched a strong criticism of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), accusing the institution of applying different standards to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

His comments follow concerns reportedly raised by the IMF over political appointments to the boards of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), including the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

In a statement shared on social media, Dafeamekpor questioned what IMF Country Directors expect from NDC governments whenever the party is in power.

He said he had observed what he described as a worrying tendency by the IMF to quickly criticise an NDC administration over policies and decisions which, according to him, the same institution previously allowed NPP governments to implement.

According to Dafeamekpor, there have been instances of prominent NPP politicians serving as board chairpersons of major state institutions under the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He cited Peter Mac Manu and Hackman Owusu-Agyemang as examples, noting that they served as Board Chairmen of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the Ghana Cocoa Board respectively during the Akufo-Addo administration.

Dafeamekpor argued that the political affiliations and senior positions held by such individuals within the NPP should have been taken into consideration when the IMF assessed political appointments to SOE boards.

“Obviously, the IMF didn’t know this and, of course, didn’t also know the political coloration nor rank of these men who led GPHA and Cocobod Boards at the time,” he stated.

The South Dayi MP further claimed that he could provide the IMF with a comprehensive list of senior NPP officials and Members of Parliament who served on the boards of various State-Owned Enterprises between 2017 and 2024.

He added that he could also produce similar information covering the period between 2001 and 2008, when the NPP was previously in government.

Dafeamekpor said the IMF’s recent comments concerning GoldBod, together with what he described as the institution’s latest report, had convinced him that the Fund had entered Ghana’s local political arena.

Addressing the IMF Country Director directly, he said the reports suggested to him that the institution had “taken sides” in Ghana’s political conflict.

“By your tainted GoldBod report a couple of weeks prior and your present report in question, [it] tells me without doubt that you have descended into the local political arena of conflict and taken sides opposite to me,” he said.

He subsequently questioned the IMF’s neutrality and independence as an international financial institution.

“You must never be trusted again as an independent and neutral supra-national financial institution,” Dafeamekpor added.

The MP also expressed anger over Ghana’s gold and the IMF’s reported position on GoldBod, declaring that Ghana would no longer sell its gold to the institution.

“As for our gold, ‘forgerrit’. We will no longer sell it to you,” he said.

He accused the IMF of allegedly fabricating and skewing reports about Ghana with what he described as a strong anti-NDC bias.

“You can continue to fabricate and skew our country reports with a huge anti-NDC slant,” he stated.

Dafeamekpor ended his remarks with a strong endorsement of the Ghana Gold Board, popularly known as GoldBod, declaring:

“GoldBod ad vitam!”