A women’s co-ordinator for Kennedy Agyapong’s campaign in the Eastern Region has criticised the national bullion depository, the Ghana Gold Board, and warned that reported financial losses by GOLDBOD could have grave consequences for ordinary Ghanaians.
Yaa Ansaa Safori said on The Forum on Asaase Radio on Saturday (3 January) that the $214 million loss associated with GOLDBOD is alarming.
“Losing $214 million is no joke … No matter how bad the [International Monetary Fund] is, they have been able to hold the country down for you to take over,” she said.
“We thought GOLDBOD was established to curb galamsey, but what do we see? It is even fuelling it. It is supposed to bring profit, but we are losing out, and then we sit down and watch while no one wants to talk about it.”
Economic impact
Ms Safori expressed concern about the broader economic impact on citizens, highlighting the decline in purchasing power, rising utility bills and delayed payments to contractors.
She argued that funds used to stabilise the cedi could have been redirected to improve Ghanaians’ living standards.
“If you are doing this to give yourself a name while the people suffer, this is wrong,” she said.
“The shutdown [of GOLDBOD proposed by some critics] is very important. I think GOLDBOD was set up to divert funds somewhere … as a tool to make money for themselves.”
Caution
She also warned that alleged arrests and attacks on NPP members by law-enforcement agencies could have political repercussions.
“There is a time, and they should know that nemesis will catch up with them … because we are still suffering, and it is worse than before. Where are the jobs?”
The controversy
The Minority in Parliament has called for a bipartisan investigation into the state’s reported loss of $214 million through gold trading between January and September 2025, warning that the figure could rise to $300 million for the year if the government did not take urgent action.
The cumulative loss was allegedly incurred by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) under the Gold-for-Reserves programme and specific claims citing the figure first appeared in a report on Ghana by the International Monetary Fund.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Monday (29 December), the Minority spokesman on information and ranking member of Parliament’s committee on the economy and development, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the inquiry should be conducted by an ad-hoc committee of MPs with powers to subpoena all documentation and bodies connected to the programme.
“We are demanding a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances under which the Republic of Ghana has lost $214 million, heading towards $300 million,” Oppong Nkrumah said.
“We are asking for a parliamentary ad-hoc investigative committee with the power to subpoena all contracts, licences [and] intermediaries, including this so-called monopoly structure.”
GOLDBOD rejects claims
However, GOLDBOD has denied incurring losses, describing the IMF claims as speculative and inaccurate.
In a statement issued last month, the board’s chief executive officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said GOLDBOD expects an income surplus of at least GHC600 million for the 2025 financial year.
Gyamfi also said that GOLDBOD does not charge offtaker fees, explaining that GOLDBOD’s role is limited to purchasing, assaying and exporting gold on behalf of the Bank of Ghana, and that all trading and sale agreements with offtakers are handled by the central bank.
He further said that GOLDBOD contributed over $10 billion in foreign exchange to the national coffers in 2025 by purchasing more than 100 tonnes of gold from licensed artisanal producers and small-scale mining companies on behalf of the Bank of Ghana.
Asaase Broadcasting Company airs on Asaase 99.5 Accra, Asaase 98.5 Kumasi, Asaase 99.7 Tamale, Asaase 100.3 Cape Coast, AsaasePa 107.3 (Accra).
Affiliates: Bawku FM 101.5, Bead FM 99.9 (Bimbilla), Mining City Radio 89.5 (Tarkwa), Nandom FM 101.9, Nyatefe Radio 94.5 (Dzodze), Sissala Radio 96.3 (Tumu), Somuaa FM 89.9 (Gushegu), Stone City 90.7 (Ho) and Wale FM 106.9 (Walewale).
Listen online: atlanticafricanews.com/, Sound Garden and TuneIn.
Follow us:
X: @asaaseradio995, @Asaase985ksi, @Asaase997tamale, @asaase1003, asaasepa1073
Instagram: asaaseradio99.5, asaase985ksi, asaase100.3, asaase99.7tamale, asaasepa107.3
LinkedIn: company/asaaseradio995. TikTok: @asaaseradio99.5
Facebook: asaase99.5, asaase985ksi, Asaase100.3, asaase99.7, AsaasePa107.3.
YouTube: AsaaseRadioXtra.
Join the conversation. Accra: call 020 000 9951/054 888 8995, WhatsApp 020 000 0995. Kumasi: call 059 415 7985 or call/WhatsApp 020 631 5260. Tamale: call/WhatsApp/SMS 053 554 6468. Cape Coast: call/WhatsApp 059 388 2652.
#AsaaseRadio
#AsaasePa
#TheVoiceofOurLand
