The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the government to take practical steps to tighten all loopholes in the operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to prevent potential future losses.
He said although the relative stability of the cedi was good news and must be commended, the government needed to take steps to sustain the gains made.
He, however, cautioned against any recklessness in GoldBod’s operations, saying that could undermine the gains achieved by the government over time.
“To sustain the gains made, you need to tighten up and put in prudent measures to close all the loopholes in GoldBod’s operations,” he said.
Heed warning
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Monday (August 31), Mr Afenyo-Markin said concerns raised about GoldBod were not borne out of personal or partisan considerations.
He said the issues were serious and, if not addressed, could have far-reaching consequences for the economy.
“It is a serious matter that will come back and haunt us and if all of us do not add our voice and speak about the losses, I am sorry we cannot make it.
“This is because in the end, all those losses will hit the very economy very hard and it is time the government took a second look at the domestic gold purchase programme, roll it back to identify the loopholes and fix them,” he said.
He made the call when the Asafo Company Culture Group from Winneba called on him to show solidarity with him in the wake of various allegations made against him.
Come clear
The Minority Leader said that to sustain the gains made by GoldBod, the institution must come clear on how much it was paying for the purchase of gold, the commissions being paid, the percentage of bonuses offered and the price at which the gold was being sold to off-takers.
He also called for greater transparency on any losses incurred in the process.
In his view, Ghanaians must also know the bullion that was finally sold by Bank of Ghana after the assaying and all of that.
“These are specific issues that IMF has raised, which we, the Minority, associate ourselves with,” he said.
No personal attacks
Mr Afenyo-Markin stressed that the concerns raised about GoldBod were not personal attacks and should not be reduced to the usual political exchanges between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“This is not an NPP-NDC because it is a serious matter that affects bread-and-butter issues and our economy.
“The government is complaining that it does not have money and the fiscal space to accommodate the employment of 6,000 teachers and nurses,” he said.
He added that the government was also unable to increase infrastructure in various schools, with hospitals facing serious challenges.
“Yet, we have GH¢22 billion going down the drain,” he said.
On the argument by the government that there was always a cost associated with implementing an economic policy, Mr Afenyo-Markin said he agreed that no economic policy could be implemented without an opportunity cost.
“There must always be an opportunity cost but the International Monetary Fund that audited the implementation of the domestic gold purchase programme is saying to all of us publicly that the losses go beyond the economic cost argument,” he said.
Broad investigation welcomed
On the call by the new Majority Leader for investigations into GoldBod’s operations to go beyond 2025 to the period when the gold purchase programme began, Mr Afenyo-Markin said there should be no objection to such a move.
“We are dealing with policy implementation and if anybody wants a broader view of all issues, why not?
“It helps the national cause so that all of us are guided and we, the political leaders or actors, must elevate the conversation and take democracy much more seriously than perhaps we are taking it,” he said.
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