Haruna Mohammed Slams GoldBod Probe Denial: "Somebody Created the Loss
Haruna Mohammed, the Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has criticized the Ghana Gold Board's denial of any responsibility for the reported GH¢22 billion losses linked to Ghana's gold trading operations. He insists that the available reports point to GoldBod as the source of the costs and losses, despite the board's claims that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report did not directly attribute the losses to its operations.
NPP Backs Minority's Call for Investigation
The NPP has thrown its weight behind the Minority in Parliament's demand for answers over the reported losses. According to Haruna Mohammed, the party believes that the matter requires a full investigation to determine where the losses originated and who should be held responsible. He noted that although the Bank of Ghana's accounts may reflect the losses, GoldBod is the institution responsible for gold trading under the current legal framework.
Haruna Mohammed questioned why costs arising from gold trading activities should be reflected as a burden on the Bank of Ghana. "Lawfully, in this country, now, as we sit, it is GoldBod that is in charge of buying and selling of golds," he said. "And those particular losses that have happened, whether accounting losses or transaction losses, is going to be related to the body that has been responsible for that."
NPP Seeks Clarity on Losses
Haruna Mohammed called for clarity on how the losses were incurred. "If such a cost has been occasioned, and per the laws and the guidelines that have been put in, the loss is attributed to the Bank of Ghana, but in each wise sense, somebody created the loss," he said. "So we should be interested in who created the loss."
He said a closer examination of the Bank of Ghana's records would provide information on the source and accumulation of the costs. "And when you go and read it very carefully, you realize that it is coming from GoldBod," he said. "And if it is coming from GoldBod, as citizens of Ghana, we have the right to question why such an institution is always running us into losses."
NPP Supports Parliamentary Probe
The NPP has pledged to fully support the parliamentary effort to establish what caused the losses. Haruna Mohammed said the Minority's call for an investigation was therefore justified. "We have the right to question. And that is why the Members of Parliament have questioned that," he said. "And the party is coming out to back the Members of Parliament in the fullest time for investigation to be conducted into that, so that we will be able to get to the bottom of the matter."
The Ghana Gold Board has maintained that the IMF report cited in the debate did not directly attribute the reported losses to the operations of the state-owned gold trading institution. However, the NPP remains adamant that the relevant financial records should be examined to establish where the losses originated and who should be held responsible.
The parliamentary probe into the reported losses is expected to shed more light on the matter. As the investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen whether the NPP's claims will be substantiated or if the Ghana Gold Board's denials will hold water. One thing is certain, however: the people of Ghana deserve answers, and it is up to their elected representatives to provide them.
Source: Joy Online
