BY: Daniel Orlando | VoltaOnline
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Volta Region has waded into the controversy surrounding alleged $1.7 billion losses associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, throwing its weight behind the Minority’s call for a parliamentary probe while also demanding the removal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi.
At a press conference held in Ho today, Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Regional Chairman Makafui Kofi Woanyah said Ghanaians deserved to know what happened to the missing funds and urged Parliament to conduct a comprehensive investigation with all relevant documents made available for scrutiny. He stressed that the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, and his colleagues were within their rights to question the management of the country’s gold resources, describing such oversight as part of Parliament’s duty to protect the public interest.
Mr Woanyah insisted the matter should not be treated as partisan, noting that the resources involved belonged to the people of Ghana. He challenged the Majority to support the probe if indeed the government had nothing to hide, lamenting that the alleged losses could have been used to complete schools, improve health facilities, and fix roads.
Linking the controversy to the illegal mining crisis, he warned that Ghana faced a “double whammy” of losing its natural wealth while also enduring financial concerns over gold purchased from small-scale miners under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. He cautioned that polluted rivers and streams posed grave threats to agriculture and livelihoods, with tributaries feeding the Volta Lake at risk if galamsey was not curbed. He cited reports of deaths in abandoned pits in the Ashanti Region, including children, as evidence of the human toll of illegal mining.
Turning to the conduct of the GoldBod Chief Executive, Mr Woanyah accused Sammy Gyamfi of disrespecting the Minority Leader by allegedly using a state platform to attack him instead of addressing legitimate concerns. He declared that no presidential appointee owned Ghana or had the right to treat citizens as servants simply because they demanded accountability. “Ghanaians have the right to ask questions, and when questions are raised about the management of our resources, the appropriate response is to provide answers, not to attack the person asking the questions,” he said.
He argued that Mr Gyamfi’s actions breached the government’s Code of Conduct for appointees, insisting that such misconduct must attract sanctions. “Breaching that Code of Ethics must have consequences. Otherwise, it is not a code at all. It is decoration,” he stated.
The NPP chairman therefore called on President John Dramani Mahama to either remove Mr Gyamfi from office or publicly reprimand him, warning that failure to act would raise doubts about whether the President was firmly in control of his appointees. He stressed that public office was a trust that demanded humility, responsibility and respect, cautioning that failure to enforce standards could erode public confidence in state institutions.
Mr Woanyah concluded that the NPP in the Volta Region would continue to support the Minority’s demand for accountability in the management of national resources, insisting that decisive action was needed to preserve confidence in governance. “The President must show that there is accountability in his government and that no appointee is above the law. Ghana belongs to all of us, and public office must always be exercised with humility, responsibility and respect,” he said.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com
