Accra: Former Finance Minister and member of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has raised concerns about the Ghana Gold Board's (GoldBod) authority to engage in foreign currency sales and auctions. During a press briefing, Dr Amin Adam highlighted that the GoldBod Act does not empower the institution to function as a forex bureau.
According to Ghana Web, Dr Amin Adam claimed that GoldBod seems to be conducting foreign exchange transactions without the necessary licensing from the Bank of Ghana (BoG). He urged the BoG to clarify the legal grounds for GoldBod's forex operations and whether it has been officially sanctioned to carry out such activities.
Dr Amin Adam also expressed apprehensions over recent modifications to the financing of the gold purchasing programme. He questioned the rationale behind permitting foreign buyers to pre-finance gold purchases, suggesting that this could result in hefty discounts and heightened losses within the programme. Additionally, he criticized the decision to involve commercial banks in financing gold purchases, noting that this would incur interest and guarantee costs, unlike the previous arrangement with the BoG.
The former Finance Minister further sought clarification on the conflicting financial figures related to the gold purchasing programme. He called for an explanation of the discrepancies between the GHS22 billion losses reported to the IMF, the GHS9.05 billion losses in the BoG's audited accounts, and the GHS5.45 billion surplus reported by GoldBod. Dr Amin Adam emphasized the need for transparent reporting to ascertain the programme's true financial status.