The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority in Parliament has pledged to continue to initiate the necessary parliamentary processes for a full inquiry into the reported loss of $1.7 billion (about GH¢C22 billion) through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) and the Bank of Ghana.
It flatly dismissed the claims of extortion by GoldBod Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sammy Gyamfi and his allies against the Minority Leader, Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, and the Minority Caucus.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported in its 2026 Article IV consultation and programme review that the BoG incurred cumulative quasi-fiscal policy costs and losses of more than $1.7 billion (about 1.5% of GDP) in 2025, largely due to GoldBod’s gold trading activities under the DGPP.
However, GoldBod, with its audited report, rejected the claim that it made losses under the programme as the debt has been transferred into the books of the Central Bank.
In a statement issued on August 22, 2026, after the unsubstantiated extortion allegation, the Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Osahen Afenyo-Markin, said he will not lose focus on the real issues.
“Over the past week, all manner of insults and personal attacks have been directed at me, apparently in an attempt to impugn my character and divert attention from the substantive questions I have raised. False and defamatory allegations have also been made about my motives for questioning the losses incurred under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the role of GoldBod in those transactions.
“These allegations are entirely false, and I reject them without qualification.
“I remain focused. I will continue working with the Minority Caucus to initiate the necessary parliamentary processes for a full inquiry into the reported GH¢22 billion loss arising from the trading done by GoldBod and reflected in the books of the Bank of Ghana.
“The International Monetary Fund has reported a loss of approximately US$1.7 billion under this programme in 2025. Whichever institution’s balance sheet carries that figure, it represents public money.
“Ghanaians are, therefore, entitled to know who the off-takers were, what discounts were applied to their purchases, on whose authority those discounts were approved, and what fees were earned from the transactions.
“They are equally entitled to a full disaggregation of the US$1.7 billion: how much arose from foreign-exchange differentials; how much resulted from the prices at which GoldBod bought and sold the gold; and what considerations informed the management decisions behind those transactions,” Osahen Afenyo-Markin stated.
These questions, according to the Minority Leader, belong in the public record, emphasising that the “Minority will continue to place them there, in writing and with our sources published, so that every Ghanaian can examine the evidence and arrive at an informed judgment, rather than merely take my word or anyone else’s.”
Minority’s responsibilities
The Minority Leader reminded Ghanaians that it is his responsibility to lead his Caucus to make government and its agencies accountable to the Ghanaian people.
“As Minority Leader in Parliament, my responsibility is to help Parliament discharge its constitutional oversight function. My actions have been guided solely by that responsibility. I have neither acted from any improper motive nor conducted myself inappropriately in the performance of my duties.
“I recognise that, in public life, those who are uncomfortable with legitimate scrutiny may push back. In some cases, they may resort to false allegations, personal attacks and ridicule in an effort to shift attention from the substantive issues and make the person asking the questions the subject of controversy,” the Minority Leader stated.
Defamatory statements
On the defamatory statements made against him, Osahen Afenyo-Markin served notice he will pursue the appropriate legal remedies.
Personal attacks and code of conduct
Meanwhile, the Minority group has criticised what it called personal characterisations directed by Gyamfi at Osahen Afenyo-Markin and the Minority MPs.
In a statement issued by the Deputy Minority Leader Madam Patricia Appiagyei on August 22, 2026, the Minority further rejected the extortion allegations as “false”. It said it would not respond in kind.
Legitimate scrutiny of a public institution’s operations and finances, she argued, is a core accountability function that no official may reframe as wrongdoing.
Citing Ghana’s Code of Conduct and Ethics for political appointees, the Minority said public office requires civility, restraint, and respect.
The Minority pledged to pursue appropriate institutional channels to hold GoldBod’s CEO to those standards.
