Dr. Gideon Boako
Tano North Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Gideon Boako, has attributed the reported GH¢22 billion loss under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) to what he described as the collective responsibility of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ministry of Finance.
The reported loss, equivalent to about US$1.7 billion, has become a major point of contention between the government and the parliamentary Minority.
The debate has centred on whether the loss should be attributed directly to GoldBod or to the Bank of Ghana, which financed the programme and absorbed the reported accounting losses.
Speaking on Adom TV on Monday, August 24, Dr. Boako argued that the three institutions cannot distance themselves from the financial outcome of the programme because of their respective roles in its implementation and financing.
He said the institutions must account for how the programme was structured, financed and operated, insisting that the reported loss should not be treated as an issue concerning only the Bank of Ghana’s balance sheet.
Dr. Boako’s comments come amid continued exchanges between Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi over the reported losses, with both sides offering different interpretations of the financial impact of the DGPP.
The programme’s structure, according to him, was designed to create opportunities for financial gain rather than protect the public purse.
He said the scale of the reported loss demanded a thorough examination of how the programme was implemented and who ultimately benefited.
“The whole thing was a profiteering scheme. It was designed to create the create, and share the same. I call it create the bag, share the bag lootocracy,” he said.
