Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has dared Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to formally challenge or sue him over his description of the Minority Leader as an “extortionist,” arguing that Afenyo-Markin’s silence on the claim is itself confirmation that it is true.
Mr Gyamfi made the remarks in a media appearance, continuing his response to the Minority Caucus’s allegations that GoldBod contributed to $1.7 billion in losses under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, extending a public confrontation that has run for weeks between the two men.
Mr Gyamfi opened by rejecting what he characterised as a double standard in how criticism is treated depending on who delivers it. “Just like he can criticise me, he’s also not beyond reproach,” he said. “So Sammy Gyamfi should be criticised; Afenyo-Markin should not be criticised. This is not an insult. I am showing you that this is your record.”
He cited two figures directly, attributing a cumulative loss of GH¢3.3 billion at Ghana Water Company and GH¢8.2 billion at the Electricity Company of Ghana to periods connected to Afenyo-Markin’s institutional record, as the board chair of the two state utility companies.
“You are not facing any criminal action or onerous bail terms,” Mr Gyamfi said. “Why should you project that on me when I have not made a loss?”
A Track Record of Restraint, He Says
Sammy Gyamfi framed his use of the word “extortion” as unusual for him, pointing to what he described as an extensive public record of engaging critics without resorting to that language.
“I have appeared on this platform too many times. Perhaps in this country, I have held more press conferences on political issues than anybody. Have you ever heard me use the word extortion against any of my critics? Have you ever heard me? Why will I use this word now?”
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (Goldbod), Sammy Gyamfi
He suggested that the absence of a response from Afenyo-Markin was telling. “Why have you not heard Afenya Markin say anything about that or challenge me or threaten to sue you?” he asked, addressing the interviewer directly. “There are things you don’t know.”
Sammy Gyamfi described himself as unbothered by political criticism generally, distinguishing his posture toward ordinary disagreement from the specific claim at the centre of this dispute. “I’m a consummate Democrat. I eat and drink debates. I’m not worried,” he said, repeating the phrase for emphasis. “I’m not worried if you criticise me.”
He argued that Afenyo-Markin’s failure to respond to the extortion allegation specifically, as opposed to the broader political sparring between them, reflected an inability rather than a choice not to engage. “That is why he cannot comment on that or even challenge me,” Mr Gyamfi said. “He cannot. Because he knows that what I said is true.”
A Direct Challenge to the Interviewer
Sammy Gyamfi turned the confrontation into a direct challenge, urging the interviewer to press Afenyo-Markin on the claim rather than let it pass unanswered. He suggested framing it as a legal matter.
“Tell him that you want to be his lawyer so that he sues Sammy Gyamfi to substantiate that claim,” he said, apparently meaning that Afenyo-Markin should be encouraged to sue him if the allegation is false.
He proposed a further step, inviting a confrontation on air. “Tell him that you will give him an interview here and Sammy Gyamfi will come, and that you should dare Sammy Gyamfi,” he said, framing the offer as a test of whether Afenyo-Markin was prepared to defend his record publicly against the specific figures Mr Gyamfi had cited.
Mr Gyamfi closed by insisting the remarks were not intended as insults but as a factual accounting. “I’m speaking about what has happened, and he knows it,” he said.
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