The Minority Caucus in Parliament says it has prepared a motion seeking a comprehensive parliamentary examination of the financial losses associated with the domestic gold purchasing programme.
The Minority Leader, Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin, disclosed this, following concerns over the reported loss of about GH¢22 billion, equivalent to approximately US$1.7 billion, associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the motion will be filed ahead of Parliament’s resumption, following its recall. The Minority expects the Majority Caucus to cooperate in ensuring that the matter receives the necessary parliamentary scrutiny.
He said the Minority would not allow its concerns to be dismissed as partisan politics, arguing that, the issue involves significant public resources.
“Our motion is ready. We will file it before we get back next week, and we pray that you, the Majority in Parliament, will fully cooperate with us, the Minority. Something must be done.”
Mr Afenyo-Markin said Parliament has a constitutional responsibility to examine how public funds are used and to demand explanations where significant financial losses are reported. According to him, the Minority’s concern became more urgent following what he described as the IMF’s findings on the financial consequences of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
The Minority Leader said, the Caucus wants Parliament to establish the circumstances that resulted in the reported losses, the institutions involved, the decision-making processes and the safeguards that were applied.
He also wants Parliament to examine the relationship between GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana and determine whether the structure of the programme appropriately analysed and located risks inherent in the synergy between the two institutions.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority’s decision to pursue the matter through Parliament is part of its constitutional responsibility to scrutinise and keep the government on its toes to protect public interest.
“We are here to hold their feet to the fire and make them accountable to the people of Ghana.”
He further rejected what he described as attempts to personalise the Minority’s concerns, saying the Caucus was acting on the basis of information contained in the IMF’s assessment.
“We are not here to trade insults, and that must be clear to them.”
The Minority Leader said the scale of the reported losses makes it necessary for Parliament to establish whether Ghana obtained value from the transactions and whether the financial risks associated with the programme were properly managed.
He argued that the reported GH¢22 billion loss could have been deployed to address critical national needs, including healthcare, education, roads and other infrastructure.
“Let us be honest about what 1.7 billion dollars actually means. It is hospitals that will not be built. It is schools that will not be built. It is poor roads that claim lives every week. It is water treatment facilities that will not be constructed.”
Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority would continue to demand answers and ensure that the issue remains before the Ghanaian public and Parliament.
He maintained that the objective is not to frustrate GoldBod or the government’s gold policy, but to ensure that institutions entrusted with public resources are accountable for their decisions.
The Minority Leader also recalled that the Caucus had earlier raised concerns about fees charged under the gold purchasing arrangement, after which, he said, the fees were subsequently reviewed.
According to him, that development reinforces the need for Parliament to examine the programme and determine whether earlier warnings were adequately addressed.
He said the Caucus would pursue the matter when Parliament resumes and would expect the government and the relevant state institutions to provide the necessary information.
“A day of reckoning will come. They should remember that post-regime accountability awaits them.”
The proposed parliamentary scrutiny is expected to focus on the reported losses, the operational relationship between GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana, the financing and risk-sharing arrangements, transaction pricing, fees, off-taker arrangements and the safeguards put in place to protect public funds.