Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has hit back at Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin over his warning that officials of the institution could face severe bail conditions if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) returns to power.
Mr Gyamfi dismissed the warning as misplaced and accused the Minority Leader of making claims without properly assessing GoldBod’s performance and contribution to Ghana’s gold industry.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, August 19, Mr Gyamfi pointed to what he described as significant progress under the current GoldBod administration, particularly in local gold refining and value addition.
“Under your tenure, not a gram of gold was refined in Ghana, but today over 9 million tonnes of gold we have bought is refined here in Ghana, and we are changing the value addition story of the country,” he said.
He further mocked Mr Afenyo-Markin’s criticism, describing it as “the fanciful efficiency of a palm wine bar” and suggesting that the Minority Leader’s comments should be treated as comic relief rather than serious parliamentary commentary.
Mr Gyamfi also took issue with what he described as the quality of debate under Mr Afenyo-Markin’s leadership of the Minority, contrasting it with the standards set by former Minority Leaders such as J.H. Mensah, Papa Owusu-Ankomah and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
Responding directly to the warning of possible legal consequences under a future NPP administration, Mr Gyamfi said he was unfazed by what he described as intimidation.
“So I will go to prison in his brain, and I will have onerous bail terms in his brain, and I am not afraid of any intimidating tactics because we are serving Ghana in good conscience and our results and posterity will speak for us,” Mr Gyamfi said.
His comments followed a press conference by the Minority caucus on Tuesday, August 18, at which Mr Afenyo-Markin warned that officials of the current administration, including GoldBod executives, could face “scary” bail conditions if the NPP returns to power.
The Minority Leader’s warning was linked to his allegations of GH¢22 billion in losses at GoldBod, claims that Mr Gyamfi has previously rejected while acknowledging that the institution has recorded losses and calling for factual debate on the figures.
Mr Gyamfi’s latest response marks a sharp escalation in the political dispute over GoldBod’s financial performance, with both sides offering contrasting assessments of the institution’s record and accountability.
