Parliament must probe Gold-for-Reserves losses despite BoG reforms – Oppong Nkrumah

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has insisted that Parliament must exercise its constitutional oversight mandate by instituting a public inquiry into the over $300 million losses incurred under the Gold-for-Reserves program, despite the Bank of Ghana’s admission and decision to conduct an internal probe.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Accra-based Citi FM, the Ofoase-Ayirebi lawmaker dismissed claims that the matter has been settled simply because the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has constituted a team to investigate the losses.

According to Oppong Nkrumah, Parliament’s oversight responsibility over the Executive cannot be outsourced or substituted with an internal administrative review conducted by the same institutions implicated in the controversy.

“The Constitution gives Parliament an explicit mandate to hold the Executive to account. That role cannot be curtailed simply because an agency has decided to investigate itself,” he stressed.

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He recalled that initial responses from both the Bank of Ghana and the Gold Board (GoldBod) were outright denials, with the losses described as “speculative and false.”

However, after sustained pressure and disclosures made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both institutions later admitted that losses had indeed occurred.

Oppong Nkrumah argued that this inconsistency and backtracking strengthen the case for a transparent, independent public inquiry.

“If government agencies admit losses to the IMF but turn around to deny the same facts to the Ghanaian people, then there is a clear basis for a public inquiry,” he said.

He further criticised recent attempts by GoldBod to downplay the losses by suggesting they were lower than those recorded under the previous administration, describing such claims as misleading and unsupported by facts.

“GoldBod is now saying that if there were losses, they were minimal or lower than before. That is simply not true,” he asserted.

On the part of the Bank of Ghana, Oppong Nkrumah noted that the governor has shifted from denial to conceding that there was a “cost” involved, with assurances that steps are being taken to prevent a recurrence in future operations.

“If losses were incurred, the government must be candid. Ghanaians deserve to know how and why over $300 million was lost, so that appropriate remedial measures can be put in place to prevent a repeat,” he concluded.



VKB/MA