The Minority in Parliament has filed a fresh motion seeking the establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the reported $1.7 billion loss at the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
The move comes as the Minority continues to demand answers over the reported losses and rejects suggestions that it should rely solely on the Public Accounts Committee to investigate the matter.
The Caucus has also challenged GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi to substantiate allegations of extortion against Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accusing him of attempting to divert attention from the GoldBod losses.
Speaking after a Minority Caucus meeting, Old Tafo MP and Member of Parliament’s Economy Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, said the fresh motion has been submitted to the Speaker for consideration.
He said the Minority intends to pursue an ad hoc committee because it believes that is the appropriate mechanism to establish the circumstances surrounding the reported losses.
“It is an ad hoc motion, an ad hoc committee that is going to help the Minority to be able to unravel the circumstances to which this loss came by. And so that is our strategy. We will not bend the rules or we will not bend our strategy for anybody’s convenience,” he said.
Mr Assafuah dismissed suggestions that the Minority must use the Public Accounts Committee to conduct the inquiry.
“Nobody teaches the Minority as to how we should go about its work. The tools that are available to Parliament are well placed within our hands to use any of the tools that we so deem fit to use,” he said.
He argued that Article 103 of the 1992 Constitution, together with relevant parliamentary Standing Orders, provides the basis for Parliament to establish committees to investigate matters involving ministries, departments and agencies.
He specifically cited Orders 204, 212, 213, 262 and 263, saying they provide for the establishment of an ad hoc committee and empower it to call persons who may assist with its work.
“It is our contention that the motion that Parliament, that is the Minority, has sent to the Speaker of Parliament for the Speaker of Parliament to consider within this week is something that is much more important,” Mr Assafuah said.
He maintained that the Caucus would not alter its strategy simply to accommodate what he described as the convenience of others.
The parliamentary move comes against the backdrop of a growing dispute between the Minority and Mr Gyamfi.
The Minority has accused the GoldBod CEO of seeking to shift attention from questions surrounding the reported $1.7 billion loss through allegations of extortion against Mr Afenyo-Markin.
Mr Assafuah said the Caucus remains firmly behind its leader and challenged the person making the allegation to provide evidence.
The Minority’s position is that the allegations against Mr Afenyo-Markin should not distract from the substantive questions it wants Parliament to investigate concerning GoldBod.
The proposed ad hoc committee, if approved, is expected to provide Parliament with a mechanism to examine the circumstances surrounding the reported losses and summon individuals who may have information relevant to the inquiry.
Mr Assafuah said the committee would be able to call on persons who could assist Parliament in establishing what happened.
The fresh motion now puts the matter before the Speaker of Parliament, whose consideration will determine the next stage of the Minority’s proposed parliamentary inquiry.
For the Minority, the immediate priority is to establish the facts surrounding the reported loss rather than allow the political dispute over the extortion allegations to dominate the debate.
“So let’s take to the substance of the matter,” Mr Assafuah said.