ELS: MBN360 NEWS
Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has rejected what he called false and defamatory allegations about his motives for questioning losses under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, announcing that he intends to pursue legal remedies over personal attacks made against him in the past week.
The statement is the Effutu MP’s first direct public response since GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi described him as an extortionist and accused him of waging a smear campaign against the institution, and it marks a shift from Mr Gyamfi’s confrontational framing toward a formal declaration of intent to litigate.
Hon. Afenyo-Markin said the past week had brought insults and personal attacks apparently aimed at impugning his character and diverting attention from the substantive questions he has raised.
“False and defamatory allegations have also been made about my motives for questioning the losses incurred under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the role of GoldBod in those transactions. These allegations are entirely false, and I reject them without qualification.”Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
He grounded his position in his constitutional role, saying his responsibility as Minority Leader is to help Parliament discharge its oversight function and that his actions have been guided solely by that duty. “I have neither acted from any improper motive nor conducted myself inappropriately in the performance of my duties,” he said.
A Pattern He Says He Recognises
Hon. Afenyo-Markin framed the backlash as a familiar response to legitimate scrutiny rather than evidence against him. “I recognise that, in public life, those who are uncomfortable with legitimate scrutiny may push back,” he said.
“In some cases, they may resort to false allegations, personal attacks and ridicule in an effort to shift attention from the substantive issues and make the person asking the questions the subject of controversy.”Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
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Rather than respond to the specific characterisations levelled against him, he said he intends to remain focused on continuing the process he began, working with the Minority Caucus to initiate parliamentary procedures for a full inquiry into the reported GH¢22 billion loss recorded in the trading conducted by GoldBod and reflected in the Bank of Ghana’s books.
Hon. Afenyo-Markin set out the specific figure at the centre of the dispute. The International Monetary Fund reported a loss of approximately $1.7 billion under the programme in 2025, and he argued that whichever institution’s balance sheet carries that figure, it represents public money.
He said Ghanaians are entitled to know who the off-takers were, what discounts were applied to their purchases, on whose authority those discounts were approved, and what fees were earned from the transactions.
He also called for a full disaggregation of the $1.7 billion figure, breaking down how much arose from foreign-exchange differentials, how much resulted from the prices at which GoldBod bought and sold gold, and what considerations informed the management decisions behind those transactions.
A Commitment to the Public Record
Hon. Afenyo-Markin said these questions belong in the public record and that the Minority will continue placing them there in writing, with sources published, so Ghanaians can examine the evidence directly. “So that every Ghanaian can examine the evidence and arrive at an informed judgment, rather than merely take my word or anyone else’s,” he said.
On the personal allegations made against him, he said he intends to pursue the appropriate legal remedies, while stressing that his attention and that of the Caucus he leads remain focused on the programme, the decisions taken and the public funds involved.
The statement was signed Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Minority Leader and MP for Effutu.
