Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has responded sharply to comments by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin that officials of the institution could face “scary” bail conditions should the New Patriotic Party (NPP) return to power.
Mr Gyamfi dismissed the warning as misplaced and accused the Minority Leader of making such assertions without properly considering GoldBod’s achievements and performance.
According to him, GoldBod has made considerable progress in strengthening Ghana’s gold value chain, particularly by increasing the amount of gold refined locally.
He argued that the current administration had changed the country’s approach to value addition in the gold sector, contrasting it with the record of the previous administration.
“Under your tenure, not a gram of gold was refined in Ghana, but today over 9 million tonnes of gold we have bought is refined here in Ghana, and we are changing the value addition story of the country,” Mr. Gyamfi said.
He also described Mr. Afenyo-Markin’s comments as “the fanciful efficiency of a palm wine bar,” suggesting that the remarks were more suitable for comic relief than serious parliamentary debate.
Mr. Gyamfi further criticized the Minority Leader for what he considered a decline in the quality of parliamentary discourse, particularly when compared with former occupants of the Minority Leader position such as J.H. Mensah, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
Responding to the suggestion that he and other GoldBod officials could face imprisonment and difficult bail conditions under a future NPP government, Mr. Gyamfi said he was not intimidated by such statements.
“So I will go to prison in his brain, and I will have onerous bail terms in his brain, and I am not afraid of any intimidating tactics because we are serving Ghana in good conscience and our results and posterity will speak for us,” he stated.
Mr. Gyamfi made the comments on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, during the Government Accountability Series.
His response followed remarks made by the Minority Caucus, led by Mr. Afenyo-Markin, at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Minority Leader had warned that officials of the current administration, including GoldBod executives, could face what he described as “scary” bail conditions if the NPP regains power.
The warning was linked to Mr. Afenyo-Markin’s allegations that GoldBod had incurred losses amounting to GH¢22 billion, a claim that the GoldBod leadership has strongly disputed.