Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, has threatened the CEO of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod)Sammy Gyamfi and its leadership with possible ‘scary’ bail conditions in the future.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the GoldBod leadership in the future could face “scary” bail conditions if the standards being applied to some former government officials are maintained.
Afenyo-Markin, who was speaking at a press conference today, August 18, drew a comparison between what he described as stringent bail conditions imposed on some former government officials facing investigations and similar treatment of the current administration should the NPP Return to power.
The minority leader argued that the NDC government is setting a precedent through the conditions attached to bail for some accused persons, which could eventually have consequences for officials currently in government.
He warned that those currently holding public positions should consider how the standards being applied today.
Also, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has made a GH¢22 billion loss to the state.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the GoldBod must account for the GH¢22 billion financial loss to the state.
He argued that the Minority would not be deterred by attacks or criticisms from GoldBod officials as they push for public accountability.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, August 18, Afenyo-Markin stated, “So they must account for the GH¢22 billion loss. It must account for it because it amounts to causing financial loss to the state”.
“GoldBod is responsible for causing financial loss to the state and the Minority will say this and say it firmly and boldly,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter the adjectives that they use to describe or to attack our personalities, and we know a day of reckoning will come,” he said.
The minority further argued that GoldBod cannot hide behind an agency role to escape accountability.
Afenyo-Markin rejected GoldBod’s claims that its role as an agent of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) shields it from responsibility for losses arising from the country’s gold trading operations.
He added, “Gold Board cannot hide behind accounting technicalities”.
“Gold Board is entitled to make the accounting point that it was purchasing gold on behalf of the Bank of Ghana. But agency does not extinguish operational responsibility,” he said.
“An agent entrusted with billions of cedis or public resources remains responsible for the quality of its execution,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin added, “If an institution earns transaction-based income for purchasing, assaying, and aggregating gold, while the financier bears the underlying trading losses, then increasing transaction volumes may increase the agent’s revenue, even where the overall programme destroys value for the principal”.
“Any responsible government confronted with these 22 billion losses should immediately investigate whether the incentive structure encouraged excessive volumes, inadequate pricing discipline, or insufficient attention to trading costs,” he said.
“We therefore reject any attempt to answer the public concerns merely by pointing to GoldBod’s reported surplus,” he said.
Watch the video below:
@ghnow_ Minority Leader Afenyo-Markin Addresses GoldBod Losses #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Happening Now: National Mining Dialogue at Kempiski Hotel #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – JUDITH 💞
