Asiedu Nketia dismisses NPP’s GoldBod criticism as political distraction

Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has dismissed criticisms of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as an attempt to distract from the economic benefits of the policy he endorses. Speaking on Onua TV, Nketia emphasized that the GoldBod initiative aims to provide the state with greater control over gold purchases, enabling the country to utilize the proceeds for national development, much like the previous COCOBOD arrangement.

He refuted claims by NPP Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who alleged that GoldBod had incurred a loss of approximately GH¢1.7 billion based on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report. However, the CEO of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, has previously dismissed these claims. Nketia argued that the criticisms were unfounded, comparing GoldBod's operations to the previous government's Gold-for-Oil programme.

He stated that the Bank of Ghana provides funds to GoldBod for gold purchases, which are then sold by the central bank, and that the IMF report cited transaction costs rather than a loss to the country. Nketia urged the public to focus on the broader economic benefits of GoldBod, including improved price stability, stable inflation and exchange rates, lower land costs, and increased export revenues.