The Minority in Parliament is pushing for a full-scale bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into the ‘ $214 million losses’ allegedly incurred by the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) under the Gold-for-Reserve programme.
According to the Caucus, it has already prepared and submitted a motion to the Speaker for Parliament to establish an ad hoc committee to probe the matter.
Addressing journalists in Parliament on Monday, December 28, former Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah explained that the instrument required to establish the bipartisan ad hoc committee must be approved by the entire House.
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He added that the Minority has already prepared these instruments and submitted them to the Speaker’s office.
He added that if the Speaker considers the matter a major national issue, the Minority will fully support a recall of Parliament to approve the motion.
The Ofoase Ayirebi MP criticised the explanations provided so far by the Bank of Ghana and the Gold Board, describing them as insufficient and evasive.
“Are we satisfied with the responses of the Bank of Ghana and the Gold Board? Absolutely not… With the greatest of respect, they are woefully inadequate,” he stressed.
He accused the institutions of attempting to muddy the situation rather than provide clarity.
“For them, they’ve been trying to obfuscate. One says it’s not our loss, another says it’s speculative. We need to compel all of them to appear with the necessary documents,” he added.
The Minority questioned why such huge losses could occur within months when previous programmes did not record similar outcomes.
“This is a very serious matter. $300 million loss… Ghanaians should not be taken for fools. The whole agenda was to do better than before; how can you do worse and expect applause?” he quizzed.
He also questioned the selection of the sole aggregator and called for the committee to subpoena contracts, licences, fee structures, pricing formulas, and foreign exchange arrangements.
The Minority also raised environmental concerns, suspecting state funds may be used to purchase illegally mined gold, and proposed suspending permits in forest reserves while introducing stricter traceability measures.
Oppong Nkrumah emphasised that the Minority is not calling for resignations yet, arguing that the rule of law and due process must be respected.
According to him, the Caucus will not pronounce people guilty because it believes in the Constitution, and therefore it is first demanding an inquiry where details can be extracted, and if wrongdoing is established, the law will take its course.
He reiterated earlier Minority proposals, including separating regulatory and commercial functions, strengthening institutions such as PMMC, and ensuring transparency.
He warned that if Parliament fails to act swiftly, the losses could deepen and burden taxpayers further.