Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has served notice to officials of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) that they could face accountability for decisions taken under the current administration, particularly over alleged losses linked to the country’s gold purchasing and trading operations.
Addressing the media in Parliament, the Effutu MP said holding public office comes with a responsibility to account for the management of state resources even after a government leaves power.
“Post-regime accountability awaits you. Every public official must understand that public office comes with responsibility and accountability,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
His warning comes as the Minority intensifies its scrutiny of GoldBod and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme over alleged $1.7 billion losses which it says have been reflected on the books of the Bank of Ghana.
Afenyo-Markin has rejected GoldBod’s reliance on its reported financial surplus as proof that it did not incur losses, arguing that Parliament must look beyond the institution’s own accounts and examine the broader financial impact of its operations on the central bank.
According to the Minority Leader, GoldBod cannot take credit for revenues generated through the gold trade while costs associated with the same transactions are borne by the Bank of Ghana.
“You do not get to keep the fees and disown the costs. This is not accounting. That is convenience,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin has also demanded answers over the identity of off-takers who allegedly purchased gold at discounted prices and the arrangements surrounding service and assay fees.
He argued that these issues require independent scrutiny rather than being dismissed on the basis that GoldBod’s audited accounts show a profit.
“The Ghanaian people deserve clear answers on how public funds have been managed and whether the state obtained value from these transactions,” he said.
The Minority Leader has also linked the gold operations to the Bank of Ghana’s negative equity position, describing the central bank as “technically bankrupt” and alleging that gold operations were a major contributor to its financial difficulties in 2025.
“Our central bank is technically bankrupt therefore and the single biggest driver of that collapse in 2025 was gold operations, gold bought.”
He cited figures he attributed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), claiming the Bank of Ghana’s equity stood at negative GH¢93.8 billion at the end of 2025, equivalent to negative 6.7 percent of GDP.
Afenyo-Markin said the Minority would pursue a parliamentary investigation into the alleged losses to establish how the transactions were structured, who benefited and why the financial burden was reflected on the central bank’s books.
He stressed that any future accountability process should not be viewed as political persecution, arguing that officials entrusted with public resources must be prepared for their decisions to be scrutinised even after leaving office.
“No public officer should assume that accountability ends when a government leaves office. Every decision taken with public resources must be capable of withstanding scrutiny,” Afenyo-Markin added.
GoldBod, however, has maintained that its audited accounts show a financial surplus rather than a loss, a position the Minority disputes as it pushes for parliamentary scrutiny of the broader financial arrangements surrounding the gold programme.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
