Anti-corruption campaigner Edem Senanu believes Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin may face difficulties explaining his recent claims that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) incurred losses under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

According to Mr Senanu, a review of the 182-page International Monetary Fund (IMF) report cited in the debate does not support the Minority Leader’s claim that GoldBod recorded a loss.

“I took a look at the 182-page IMF report, and Joy, you had done a good job of fact-checking. There were 47 mentions of the GoldBod, not once mentioned that there was a loss,” he said on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, August 24.

“Indeed, the Bank of Ghana had made a loss there, and essentially owns the GoldBod. So I was wondering why the Minority Leader would come and lead that kind of allegation,” he added.

He added that the coming days and weeks would reveal how the Minority Leader and the Minority in Parliament respond to the questions surrounding the claim.

“I’m not quite sure how they’re going to wriggle out of this one,” Mr Senanu said.

He also questioned whether adequate checks were conducted before the allegation was made, suggesting that Afenyo-Markin could now be faced with the task of managing the fallout from the claim.

“I’m wondering whether the people behind the scenes did not do a good job of checking what they were saying. And potentially he may have been set up for a situation where now they have to manage what they do next,” Mr Senanu said.

His comments come amid a growing political debate over the financial performance of GoldBod and the interpretation of the IMF’s latest assessment of Ghana’s economic programme.

Mr Senanu also observed that Afenyo-Markin had appeared more measured in his recent public engagements, describing the Minority Leader’s calmer approach as useful in managing the controversy.

“It’s good that he’s sober, because if you look at the data, it doesn’t support what he said,” he noted.