The Member of Parliament for Kwahu Afram Plains, Worlase Kpeli, has dismissed claims by the Minority Leader regarding the alleged financial losses at the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), describing them as mere political machinations.
Speaking on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM’s Frontline program with host Kwabena Agyapong, the lawmaker stated that it is misleading for the opposition Minority caucus to attribute central bank trading losses to GoldBod. He maintained that GoldBod did not record any trading losses in 2025 and pointed to the entity’s audited financial accounts, which recorded a surplus.
Clarifying the origins of the controversial GH₵22 billion figure cited by the Minority, Kpeli noted that while the amount is accurately quoted from International Monetary Fund (IMF) documentation, it represents the Bank of Ghana’s losses under its gold-purchase program. GoldBod, he explained, functioned solely as a paid purchasing agent rather than an entity bearing the financial risk on its own balance sheet.
He stressed that across 47 separate references to “GoldBod” in the 182-page IMF Staff Report, including paragraph 13, the Fund nowhere states or implies that GoldBod caused the losses or that the liability sits on GoldBod’s books.
The reaction follows a press conference led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin on 18 August, where the opposition accused GoldBod of losing over GH₵22 billion in a single year based on the IMF report. A day later, GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi publicly rejected the allegations during the Government Accountability Series, labelling the claims a “barefaced lie” and referencing audited 2025 statements showing a financial surplus.
Kpeli argued that the NPP Minority is acting out of desperation to regain power in 2028 by constructing non-existent scandals to tarnish the government’s image and discredit GoldBod’s leadership.
“As MPs, we have all read the IMF report,” Kpeli said. “The IMF confirms that Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) losses rose from roughly US$400 million in 2024 to ‘over $1.7 billion in 2025.
He continued: “There is no statement, cause, or reference linking GoldBod to these losses. Rather, the IMF was cautioning the Bank of Ghana regarding its gold trading operations. But as Minority Leader, he plays the role of a devil’s advocate within our political framework. He is doing everything possible to make the sitting government look bad in the public eye. That is his primary political motive as they seek a return to office.”
Drawing parallels to previous political strategies, Kpeli noted that the NPP used similar tactics in 2016 when they attached the “incompetent” tag to former President John Dramani Mahama, a label he said Ghanaians later realised was unjustified.
He added that the Minority Leader and the opposition are still struggling to accept the outcome of the 2024 elections, which saw their parliamentary representation drop significantly from 137 seats down to 88.
Calling on the public to disregard the claims, Kpeli emphasized that the IMF is not the constitutional body tasked with determining financial infractions in Ghana. That mandate lies with the Auditor-General’s Department, whose official reports have cleared GoldBod of causing any financial losses.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana