The hypocrisy of power, and why GoldBod has exposed the NPP's greatest 'lie'

There are few things more insulting to a people’s intelligence than being told that black is white by the very politicians who once swore they would never stain their hands with ink.

That is precisely what the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is attempting to do today: Rewriting Economic History, Distorting Facts, And Weaponizing Hypocrisy in a desperate bid to tarnish Goldbod’s role in stabilizing the Ghanaian cedi.

This is not a partisan point. It is a matter of truth versus political theatre, and if the truth matters at all, then Ghanaians deserve a reminder of how we got here.

When $3 Billion a Quarter Couldn’t Save the Cedi

Not long ago, Ghana’s economic managers pinned their hopes on the Eurobond market as the saviour of the national currency.

Then-Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta went on a borrowing spree, raising a staggering $3 billion every quarter in external debt, much of it intended to “stabilize” the cedi. Yet, despite those colossal sums, the currency never appreciated. It kept sliding, bleeding value against the dollar, eroding business confidence, and hollowing out savings.

The strategy backfired so disastrously that Ghana was locked out of the international bond market altogether after a sovereign debt default, an embarrassing indictment of a government that promised prudence but delivered profligacy.

Today, the same political machinery that once defended reckless borrowing now criticizes Goldbod, a state-backed entity whose innovative approach is delivering the foreign exchange stability they once promised but failed to achieve.

The Goldbod Model: A Strategic Shift, Not a Scam

Unlike the Eurobond escapade, the Goldbod model is rooted in sustainability, sovereignty, and realism.

The approach is simple: sell domestically sourced gold on the international market to earn foreign exchange, then use that revenue to support the cedi and ease pressure on Ghana’s reserves.

In addition to augmenting the Bank of Ghana’s gold holdings, the forex generated from these sales directly feeds into the economy, providing a homegrown alternative to borrowing that accumulates debt.

“We do not borrow from international markets anymore. Instead, we leverage our natural resources strategically to strengthen the economy,” a senior economic official explained recently.

It’s a fundamental policy pivot, one that turns resource wealth into fiscal resilience rather than debt dependency.

And yet, the critics howl.

Kofi Bentil and the Politics of Falsehood

In recent weeks, Kofi Bentil, a lawyer and prominent political commentator, has led the charge against Goldbod, accusing it of fuelling illegal mining and mismanaging gold revenues.

The problem? His claims are false.

Contrary to Bentil’s assertions, Goldbod does not purchase gold from illegal miners. As CEO of Goldbod, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi made clear in a recent interview, “We only do business with licensed small-scale miners and over 20 large-scale mining companies.” The company’s client list includes more than 2,000 licensed small-scale operators, all vetted and regulated under existing mining laws.

The “85% galamsey gold” narrative is a political myth. It is a deliberate attempt to delegitimize a system that, for the first time in decades, is helping Ghana capture value from its natural resources without indebting future generations.

The Hypocrisy Runs Deep

The hypocrisy reaches almost farcical levels when you consider the contradiction: the same NPP government that borrowed tens of billions of dollars with little to show for it now criticizes an entity that is stabilizing the currency without borrowing a pesewa.

When the cedi was free-falling despite massive Eurobond inflows, the NPP’s communication machinery blamed “global conditions.” But now that Goldbod is providing foreign exchange by trading Ghana’s gold responsibly, the same voices claim it is “unnecessary” or “problematic.”

It is a cynical flip-flop designed not to inform the public but to discredit an initiative they did not create and cannot control.

Worse still, while officials boast about fighting illegal mining (galamsey), critics conveniently ignore the fact that Goldbod’s operations exclude unlicensed miners entirely. The institution is, in fact, a crucial part of the fight against illegal mining by incentivizing formalization, rewarding licensed miners with access to international markets.

Trust, Truth, and the Politics of Spin

Politics, at its worst, is not about solving problems but about shaping narratives.

And the narrative the NPP now wants Ghanaians to believe is that Goldbod, not their own failed policies, is to blame for our economic struggles.

But facts are stubborn things. Goldbod’s forex interventions have been transparent, lawful, and impactful.

They are the reason the cedi has not spiralled into the abyss despite global headwinds.

And they are a reminder that there are ways to build a resilient economy without selling future generations into debt servitude.

The same political actors who celebrated reckless borrowing as “visionary” now cry foul when a state agency uses our own gold to keep the economy afloat. That is not just hypocrisy, it is deceit.

A Test of Credibility

Ghanaians must decide whom to trust

• The policymakers who borrowed $3 billion every quarter and failed to stabilize the currency, or

• The institution that trades legally mined gold to generate foreign exchange without debt, without dependency, and without deception.

The answer should be obvious. Goldbod is not the problem. It is part of the solution, and the louder its critics shout, the clearer it becomes.