{
  "id": 4952810,
  "title": "Asiedu Nketia dismisses NPP’s GoldBod criticism as political distraction",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/asiedu-nketia-dismisses-npps-goldbod-criticism-as-political-4952810",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-01T22:02:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/asiedu-nketia-dismisses-npps-goldbod-criticism-as-political-distraction/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia has dismissed criticisms of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as mere distractions from the government's economic gains. Speaking on Onua TV, Mr Asiedu Nketia contended that the opposition's attacks by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in particular, were meant to divert attention from the benefits achieved through the government's gold purchase programme. He emphasized that the GoldBod initiative was designed to give the state greater control over gold purchases and use the proceeds for national development, much like the COCOBOD arrangement. The GoldBod CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, had previously rejected the claim of a GH¢1.7 billion loss by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the NPP has persisted in its criticism. Mr Asiedu Nketia argued that the criticisms were misplaced, comparing GoldBod's operations to the previous government's Gold-for-Oil programme, stating that GoldBod has merely replaced the PMMC with similar terms. He dismissed the IMF report's transaction costs as merely trading costs, not an outright loss to the country. The NDC chairman stressed that Ghana had not lost money through the policy, and the IMF report's findings were not indicative of a loss to the nation. He urged the public to focus on the broader economic benefits of the GoldBod initiative, citing improved price stability, stable inflation and exchange rates, lower land costs, and increased export revenues.",
  "summary": "National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has rejected criticisms of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "3News",
        "title": "Elections in Ghana now an auction for highest bidder - Asiedu Nketia on why Supreme Court quashed delegates system",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/elections-in-ghana-now-an-auction-for-highest-bidder-asiedu-nketia-on",
        "published": "2026-09-01T12:36:07.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Adom Online",
        "title": "Asiedu Nketia links high cost of elections to bribery and corruption",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/asiedu-nketia-links-high-cost-of-elections-to-bribery-and-corruption",
        "published": "2026-09-01T14:20:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Mahama Ayariga calls for major overhaul of Ghana’s waste management system",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/mahama-ayariga-calls-for-major-overhaul-of-ghanas-waste-management",
        "published": "2026-09-01T14:22:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}