President Mahama Praises GoldBod As Court Dismisses Gyamfi Defamation Suit

President John Dramani Mahama has praised the Ghana Gold Board for helping to improve Ghana’s economic prospects as the CEO of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, records a legal victory.

According to a report published by Ghanamma on October 19, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama has praised the Ghana Gold Board for helping to improve Ghana’s economic prospects through initiatives designed to reform the gold trading industry and enhance the country’s management of its mineral resources. The President made the remarks on Monday, October 19, 2026, while speaking at the Mining in Motion Conference in Accra, where he called for a more strategic approach to exploiting Ghana’s natural resources for national development. Mr Mahama emphasised that Ghana must move beyond exporting unprocessed minerals and focus on building local industries capable of processing raw materials into higher-value products. He noted that expanding domestic processing would enable the country to capture more revenue from its mineral wealth. He identified GoldBod’s operations and the government’s gold refining policy as important components of efforts to increase local participation in the gold industry.

According to a report published by Ghana Online News on October 13, 2026, an exchange took place between Abena Osei-Asare, Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, and Sammy Gyamfi, CEO of the Ghana Gold Board, concerning a reported $1.7 billion loss linked to the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. According to Ghana Web, Sammy Gyamfi previously criticized Osei-Asare for attributing the loss to GoldBod, as per a report by the International Monetary Fund. He contended that GoldBod’s audited financial statements showed a surplus, not a loss, and challenged the PAC chair to invite him to the committee. The two met at a PAC session on October 13, 2026, where agencies from the Ministry of Finance, including the Gold Board, were questioned about the 2025 financial year audit report. Gyamfi denied that GoldBod had incurred such a loss, asserting that the figure did not appear in its financial statements. He emphasized that the Auditor-General found no such loss, noting an operational surplus of approximately GHS900 million and an overall surplus of about GHS5.4 billion.

According to a report published by In Ghana News Today on October 14, 2026, an Accra High Court has dismissed the GH¢15 million defamation suit filed by the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, against Samuel Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board. Presiding over the case on October 14, 2026, the court’s General Jurisdiction 1 struck out the case, ruling that the writ of summons was incurably defective and incompetent, failing to meet mandatory procedural rules governing libel actions. According to the court, the ruling was strictly a procedural termination and did not determine whether the remarks were actually defamatory. The legal feud erupted in August 2026 following heated public debates regarding the financial operations of the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. Afenyo-Markin, the Member of Parliament for Effutu and minority leader, had publicly demanded transparency and accountability regarding a reported US$1.7 billion loss within the initiative. In a sharp response during an August 22 broadcast of JoyNews’ Newsfile, Sammy Gyamfi contested those figures and explicitly labeled the Minority Leader an extortionist.

According to a report published by YEN Ghana on October 15, 2026, lawyers representing Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin have confirmed they will press ahead with his GH¢15 million defamation lawsuit against Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, following a court ruling that set aside the writ of summons on procedural grounds. Lawyers for Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin confirmed they will press on with his GH¢15 million defamation claim against Sammy Gyamfi. The legal firm Dehyena Chambers issued a statement on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, confirming it had received instructions from Afenyo-Markin to continue pursuing the matter. Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu urges Afenyo-Markin not to appeal the dismissal of his GH¢15m defamation suit against GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi, warning of risks to Ghana’s democratic fabric.

This report is based on verified publications by Ghanamma on October 19, 2026, Ghana Online News on October 13, 2026, In Ghana News Today on October 14, 2026, and YEN Ghana on October 15, 2026.

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