The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dismissed allegations of extortion levelled by Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sammy Gyamfi against Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, describing them as a deliberate tactic to divert public attention from substantial losses under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).
Speaking on GH Today on GHOne TV on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, Ishaq Ibrahim, a member of the NPP’s Legal Directorate, argued that Goldbod has been reporting both losses and surpluses while shifting the financial burden of its market activities onto the Bank of Ghana through an agency-principal relationship.
“Goldbod is reporting losses, and it’s reporting surpluses, and shifting their losses to this one to Bank of Ghana in the form of agency principal relationship. That’s basically what we are saying,” Ibrahim stated.
“So, the report might not explicitly mention Gold Board, but if you look at the report critically, those losses as a result of Gold Board activities, at least they have to acknowledge their partial responsibility for those losses. So, it doesn’t have to say that these are losses from Gold Board, right, but we can attribute it to Gold Board as a result of the role they have performed on behalf of Bank of Ghana in the market.”
He emphasised that acknowledging the existence of the losses represents a necessary starting point.
“For me, this particular emphasis, so if you acknowledge that there is losses, that is a good start. And nobody said in the past there have not been losses. The point I am making is that, we are rationing it as a what do you call it? As patriotic Ghanaians. You said let’s be patriotic. What is more patriotic is to highlight the activities of an incompetent government. You are not highlighting it. You are highlighting it. And the destruction of the allegation. Listen, you are not highlighting,” he said.
The comments come amid an escalating political and legal dispute over International Monetary Fund (IMF) findings that the Bank of Ghana recorded losses of approximately US$1.7 billion (about GH¢22 billion) under the DGPP in 2025, equivalent to roughly 1.5 per cent of GDP.
The IMF linked the losses primarily to the scaling up of the programme, citing factors including service and assay fees paid to GoldBod, discounts on gold sold to off-takers, and exchange-rate differentials.
GoldBod and Gyamfi have consistently rejected any suggestion that the institution itself incurred the losses. They point to the Auditor-General’s audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, which show an operational surplus of about GH¢907 million and an overall surplus of GH¢5.4 billion. Gyamfi has maintained that GoldBod acted primarily as a fee-earning buying agent for the Bank of Ghana’s programme and that the IMF report does not attribute the losses to GoldBod.
The controversy intensified after Gyamfi publicly described critics, including Afenyo-Markin, as “devious extortionists” seeking to tarnish reputations in the hope of extracting settlements.
Afenyo-Markin has since filed defamation suits against Gyamfi and certain media houses. The Office of the Special Prosecutor has also indicated it will assess petitions related to the extortion allegations to determine whether further investigation is warranted.
The NPP continues to press for full accountability, arguing that the public interest lies in scrutinising the financial outcomes of the gold purchase operations rather than personal exchanges. GoldBod maintains that its audited accounts demonstrate sound performance and that any programme losses stem from deliberate policy design aimed at building reserves and stabilising the economy.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
