GoldBod Under the Microscope: Sammy Gyamfi Defends Performance Amid Fierce Political Scrutiny

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At the centre of the controversy is a disagreement over whether GoldBod is making money for the state or costing it dearly. The Minority Caucus in Parliament, led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has repeatedly alleged that the Bank of Ghana's Gold-for-Reserves programme, operated in partnership with GoldBod, has produced massive losses with figures cited as high as GH¢9.6 billion during the Mid-Year Budget Review debate, and a separate $214 million loss flagged by the International Monetary Fund in its country report on Ghana.

Gyamfi has firmly rejected these characterisations. He maintains that GoldBod's own audited 2025 financial statements prepared by the Auditor-General and published on the institution's website show an operational surplus of GH¢909.7 million and an overall surplus of GH¢5.44 billion for the year. He has argued that whatever losses exist belong to the Bank of Ghana's separate accounts, not to GoldBod itself, and has dismissed the Minority's claims as "discredited lies" designed to mislead the public.

The dispute has also spilled into a technical argument over how to read the central bank's books. Ranking Member on Parliament's Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, insists that the Bank of Ghana's true loss position combining its operating loss of roughly GH¢15.6 billion with a further hit under Other Comprehensive Income reaches GH¢34.9 billion, a figure Gyamfi disputes, arguing the audited profit-and-loss statement alone is the correct basis for judging the Bank's performance.

Rather than avoid the confrontation, Gyamfi has gone on the offensive, repeatedly daring the Minority to formally summon him before the relevant parliamentary committees Public Accounts, Finance, the Economy and Development Committee, or Lands and Mines to answer questions under oath and, he has insisted, on camera with the media present. He has framed this as evidence of his own transparency, telling critics to bring specific allegations rather than broad, unsubstantiated claims.

Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

That offer has not settled the matter. Oppong Nkrumah has countered that it is Gyamfi and the parliamentary Majority who have obstructed a formal inquiry that was first initiated in late March, accusing him of preferring friendly media platforms such as social media "Spaces" and television interviews over a genuine, document-based parliamentary probe where he would testify under oath. The Minority has also pushed for a bipartisan ad hoc committee with power to subpoena contracts, licences and intermediaries connected to the gold programmes, with calls for criminal prosecution should evidence of negligence or corruption emerge.

The exchanges have grown personal at times. Gyamfi has accused sections of the opposition and Afenyo-Markin in particular of running a "hate-driven" disinformation campaign against him and GoldBod, suggesting some criticism is rooted in personal animosity rather than substantive concern. He has drawn a distinction between Afenyo-Markin, whom he characterises as motivated by bitterness, and Oppong Nkrumah, whose points he says merit more serious engagement.

For his part, Oppong Nkrumah has accused Gyamfi of inconsistency, pointing to Gyamfi's past criticism of audit firm KPMG contrasted with his current reliance on KPMG-audited figures to defend GoldBod's performance.

Gyamfi's own conduct has occasionally become a story in itself. A viral video showing him handing out dollar notes to a self-styled evangelist drew sharp criticism from the Minority, who called it a breach of Ghana's currency and foreign exchange laws and demanded his suspension pending an investigation; Gyamfi apologised for the incident.

Beyond the personal sparring, GoldBod's supporters point to broader gains: increased formalisation of the domestic gold trade, stronger foreign exchange inflows, and a contribution to Ghana's improving reserve position. Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has credited gold sector reforms with helping generate substantial additional foreign exchange inflows and has cited GoldBod as a driver of Ghana's improved external position alongside a sharply appreciating cedi and falling inflation, trends Gyamfi has also invoked in his own defence.

Hon. Abena Osei-Asare

Critics, including Public Accounts Committee chair Abena Osei-Asare, counter that transparency questions remain unanswered particularly around how much public money has been committed to GoldBod's operations and why an institution meant to boost reserves and revenue should be linked to any losses at all, whether at GoldBod or the Bank of Ghana.

With the Minority continuing to push for a formal parliamentary inquiry and Gyamfi publicly welcoming one, the dispute looks set to move from social media and press statements into a more structured and more consequential setting in Parliament. How that inquiry unfolds, and whether it produces a shared account of GoldBod's finances, will likely shape the next phase of Ghana's debate over resource governance and the political stakes surrounding the gold sector.