Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has rejected allegations that his scrutiny of the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the role of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is motivated by improper interests.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the allegations and personal attacks directed at him over the past week were intended to undermine his credibility and divert public attention from what he described as substantive questions about reported losses from the programme.
“These allegations are entirely false, and I reject them without qualification,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin maintained that his actions were guided by Parliament’s constitutional oversight responsibilities and insisted that he had not acted improperly in raising concerns about the programme.
He said the Minority Caucus would continue with the necessary parliamentary processes to initiate a full inquiry into the reported GH¢22 billion loss arising from trading undertaken by GoldBod and reflected in the books of the Bank of Ghana.
The Minority Leader also cited an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report which, according to him, put the loss under the programme at approximately US$1.7 billion in 2025.
He argued that regardless of which institution’s balance sheet carries the loss, the funds involved were public money and therefore required scrutiny.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said Ghanaians deserved answers on the identities of the off-takers who purchased the gold, the discounts applied to their purchases, the authority under which those discounts were approved and the fees generated from the transactions.
He further called for a detailed breakdown of the reported US$1.7 billion loss, including the portion attributable to foreign-exchange differentials and the impact of the prices at which GoldBod bought and sold gold.
He also questioned the considerations that informed management decisions surrounding the transactions.
“These questions belong in the public record,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said, adding that the Minority would publish its questions and sources so that Ghanaians could independently examine the evidence.
The Minority Leader also addressed the personal attacks and what he described as defamatory statements made against him.
He said he intended to pursue the appropriate legal remedies over the alleged defamatory remarks.
Despite the controversy, Mr Afenyo-Markin said his attention and that of the Minority Caucus would remain focused on the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, the decisions taken under it and the public funds involved.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
