Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said the response by Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) CEO Sammy Gyamfi has failed to answer key questions surrounding a reported GH¢22 billion loss under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said although Mr Gyamfi responded to the concerns raised by the Minority during the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, his explanations did not adequately account for the reported loss.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Minority Leader said the GoldBod CEO had not disputed the International Monetary Fund’s finding of a US$1.7 billion loss under the programme in 2025.
Rather, Mr Afenyo-Markin said, Mr Gyamfi had disputed who should be held responsible for the loss.
The Minority Leader rejected that distinction, arguing that the loss remained a loss to the Republic regardless of which state institution carried it on its balance sheet.
“This is public money, whichever State balance sheet it sits on,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin also questioned the basis of GoldBod’s reported GH¢907 million operational surplus.
He said Mr Gyamfi had disclosed that GoldBod accounted for about GH¢133 billion in advances in 2025 and received an assay fee of 0.258% and a service fee of 0.5%.
The Minority calculated that the fees generated from the programme amounted to approximately GH¢1 billion.
Mr Afenyo-Markin consequently argued that GoldBod’s reported operational surplus was smaller than the fees it earned from the programme that incurred the reported GH¢22 billion loss.
“Strip out the agency fees and there is no operational surplus to speak of,” he said.
He further questioned GoldBod’s position on the wider economic benefits attributed to the scaling-up of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
According to the Minority Leader, GoldBod has taken public credit for the 41% appreciation of the cedi, the increase in reserves from US$8.9 billion to US$13 billion and the decline in inflation.
He therefore argued that the institution could not claim credit for the programme’s benefits while distancing itself from its financial costs.
“An institution that claims authorship of the benefits cannot describe itself as a passive agent when the costs are counted,” he said.
The Minority Leader also raised questions about the financing arrangements for the Ghana Accelerated National Reserves Accumulation Programme, saying responsibility for implementation costs had shifted from the Bank of Ghana to the Ministry of Finance in July 2026, while GoldBod was seeking to raise funds independently from August.
He described the changes as evidence that the programme’s funding model was not settled.
“Three funding arrangements in six months is not a settled model,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin further criticised Mr Gyamfi’s reference to a “brothel” during his response, arguing that such language was inappropriate in an official response concerning public funds.
He maintained that the central financial questions remained unanswered and insisted that the reported GH¢22 billion loss must be accounted for.
The Minority’s latest response follows its press conference on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at which it raised concerns over GoldBod’s financial and operational performance and reported losses under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.