Incoming Majority Leader James Agalga has defended the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) against mounting calls for a parliamentary probe into alleged losses under the government’s domestic gold purchase programme.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, the Builsa North MP said GoldBod was prepared to have its operations scrutinised and would not shy away from accountability.
“I can tell you on authority that the Gold Board will relish any opportunity created for the issues that have come up over the period to be interrogated,” he said.
“So, they are ready. They are not running away from accountability. And why should they even run away from accountability?”
His comments come after the Minority pushed for an ad hoc committee to investigate the reported losses associated with the domestic gold trading programme.
Mr Agalga, however, questioned whether a probe limited to 2025 would provide a complete picture of the programme and its associated costs.
He said documents he had reviewed showed that the issues surrounding the programme predated the establishment of GoldBod in its current form.
“I have had discussions with Mr Sammy Gyamfi, the CEO of the Gold Board. I have had the opportunity to peruse very important documents which are relevant to the discourse on whether or not Gold Board incurred losses and all that,” he said.
According to him, the Auditor-General’s 2025 report contained no adverse findings against GoldBod.
“You have an auditor-general’s report dated 2025. No single adverse finding in that report was made against the Gold Board,” he said.
He also pointed to an agreement between the now-defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and the Bank of Ghana dated 2023.
Mr Agalga said the agreement contains provisions covering costs associated with the domestic gold purchase programme and remains in force.
“In that agreement, it is very clear that costs associated with the gold purchase transactions, such as what, security, insurance, assay, smelting, etc.,” he said.
He argued that GoldBod, as an agent of the Bank of Ghana, should not be treated as the entity that bears those costs.
“Remember, the Gold Board is an agent of the Bank of Ghana. The principal must pay the cost. Gold Board itself has never incurred losses,” he said.
“On the contrary, they have made a surplus, huge, in the region of what, 4 billion plus, thereabout, and that is captured in the Auditor-General’s report.”
Mr Agalga further argued that Parliament should examine the programme’s earlier years to determine how costs were handled under the previous administration.
He cited an IMF report which, he said, stated that $400 million was lost through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme designed to support the currency.
“In the IMF report, they state categorically that 400 million was lost as a result of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, which was designed to shore up our currency, the performance of our currency against the dollar,” he said.
He therefore wants the proposed investigation to cover the programme from its inception.
“If you limit your investigation, when in actual fact we are talking about an agreement which is still in force and I have copies which hasn’t been terminated, it dates back to 2023, that agreement that I’ve seen between the Precious Minerals Marketing Company and the Bank of Ghana, which is still in force, and you limit the scope to only 2025, you’ll be doing a grave disservice to the people of this country,” he said.
Mr Agalga said Parliament should “bring all the issues to the fore” and investigate them thoroughly so that Ghanaians can be properly guided by the findings.
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