{
  "id": 1732653,
  "title": "Minority’s concerns over GoldBod’s GH¢22 billion loss not political – Afenyo-Markin",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/minoritys-concerns-over-goldbods-gh-22-billion-loss-not-political",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T14:41:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ghanaian Times",
    "slug": "ghanaian-times",
    "url": "https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/minoritys-concerns-over-goldbods-gh%c2%a222-billion-loss-not-political-afenyo-markin/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Fellow of Parliament's Minority, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has asserted that the Minority's apprehensions surrounding the reported GH¢22 billion loss attributed to Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) are not politically driven. He addressed this stance during a press conference held in Parliament on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, where he defended the Minority's perspective on the fiscal repercussions of GoldBod's domestic gold purchasing initiatives. Afenyo-Markin emphasized the Minority's concerns stemmed from a desire to provide Ghanaians with transparent information regarding the utilization of public funds in the gold purchasing scheme. He clarified that the cited figures were sourced from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) report on Ghana and were not fabricated by the opposition. According to Afenyo-Markin, the IMF identified losses of approximately US$1.7 billion, equivalent to around GH¢22 billion, linked to the domestic gold purchasing program in 2025. The losses were attributed by the IMF to service and assay fees, discounts on gold sold to off-takers, and discrepancies in exchange rates between the rates employed for gold purchases and the reference rate utilized by the Bank of Ghana for accounting. Afenyo-Markin argued that these losses ought to be subjected to public scrutiny as GoldBod played a pivotal role in procuring, consolidating, assessing, and exporting the gold, while the Bank of Ghana provided the necessary financing. He questioned why GoldBod should receive fees from these transactions while the resulting losses were recorded in the accounts of the Bank of Ghana. The Minority Leader underscored that the placement of a loss within an institution's accounts does not alter its economic impact on the nation. Consequently, he called for clarification on the prices paid for gold, the methods used to determine these prices, the selection process for off-takers, the discounts applied to gold sales, and the fees earned by GoldBod. Afenyo-Markin raised concerns regarding the risk-sharing agreement between GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana, arguing that the entity engaging in commercial activities should not reap transaction fees while another institution bears the majority of the financial risk. He stressed that the Minority's objective was not to engage in name-calling with GoldBod officials but to hold institutions accountable for the stewardship of public resources. He urged the government and GoldBod to respond to the concerns raised by the IMF and furnish Ghanaians with clear explanations concerning the reported losses. Afenyo-Markin reiterated that the Minority would persist in examining the program due to the ultimately detrimental financial consequences for Ghanaian taxpayers.",
  "summary": "Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has maintained that the Minority’s concerns over the reported GH¢22 billion loss linked to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) are not politically motivated. He made the remarks at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, where he defended the Minority’s position on the financial implications of … The post Minority’s concerns…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "3News",
        "title": "GoldBod hiding behind Bank of Ghana to mask real losses - Minority alleges",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/goldbod-hiding-behind-bank-of-ghana-to-mask-real-losses-minority",
        "published": "2026-08-18T14:45:58.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}