In gold trading, there should be no losses, Minority Leader, Osahen Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has insisted, as he dismissed claims that the Minority lacks the moral authority to question the current administration over losses under the Gold for Reserves programmes because similar setbacks occurred during the NPP government era.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said holding government to account cannot be selective or tied to which party is in power.
“It would always be convenient for someone to engage in something that happened yesterday,” he said. “So why must you question me if you’re saying that indeed there were some losses in the previous years? Didn’t they come to say that they are resetting Ghana? And aren’t they supposed to do things better?”
He expressed that past challenges do not invalidate present scrutiny.
“The fact that there were some mistakes does not mean I cannot question you when you do something wrong. I don’t get the logic,” he stated.
The Minority Leader disclosed that parliamentary pressure had already forced a review of key charges tied to the programme.
“We have become aware that a joint board meeting has reduced charges that were originally around 50 per cent. We now have 9.75 per cent for the union and 9.55 per cent for others,” he said.
According to him, the review is proof that the original structure was flawed.
“If everything was well, they wouldn’t have met to review this. It tells you something was going wrong somewhere,” he noted.
Mr Afenyo-Markin rejected claims that economic losses are an unavoidable cost of such interventions.
“That excuse that there is always an economic cost is neither here nor there. Say that to little children,” he said.
He warned that if the price of stabilising the cedi through gold-backed programmes is too high, Ghana risks sacrificing development.
“If the cost will deny you the opportunity to build schools, construct roads and hospitals, then you must look for another alternative,” he cautioned.
He proposed that the country should focus on productive sectors instead of costly currency support schemes.
“Invest in agriculture and make more money. If you invest in agriculture, your cedi will be more stable than spending so much on Gold for Reserves and denying yourself development,” he concluded.
The Minority leader made these assertions when he addressed a press conference on Monday scrutinizing the first year performance of the John Dramani Mahama led NDC Government.
By: Christian Kpesese
