Livestream: Newsfile discusses AKSA energy deal, legal vacation and GoldBod losses

Ghana is chasing corruption, tightening control over its natural resources and spending billions to reshape the economy. But as the government exercises greater power in the name of the public interest, difficult questions are emerging about accountability, due process, and who ultimately pays when the state gets.

First, GoldBod and the disputed losses. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported about US$1.7 billion in losses associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), but GoldBod insists this should not be presented as a loss suffered by the institution. Its audited accounts, it says, show a substantial surplus.

So what exactly was lost, who absorbed the cost, and did the programme's gains in reserves and cedi stability justify the reported trading losses? Are we looking at a GoldBod loss, or a policy cost?

Then, the AKSA power deal. A United States prosecution involving former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko has put allegations of bribery surrounding a Ghanaian power transaction back in the spotlight.

With allegations of coded payments, shell companies and millions of dollars in the deal, the questions are unavoidable: Was Ghana cheated? Who benefited from the alleged scheme? And if corruption is established, will Ghana investigate and recover whatever the country may have lost?

Meanwhile, legal vacation is on, but what happens to the government's Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) cases? With prosecutors identifying dozens of cases considered ready for prosecution, could the two-month court vacation slow down the government's corruption drive? Or can urgent criminal cases continue despite the vacation? Will ORAL lose momentum just as some of its cases begin taking shape?

And in the mining sector, the Adamus controversy raises another question about state power and due process. The government revoked three Adamus Resources leases over alleged breaches of mining laws. The company rejects the allegations and says the revocation itself breached due process.

As the dispute continues, is the government enforcing the mining law, or could its own actions face the same legal scrutiny it is demanding of mining companies?

Four controversies. Four battles over money, power, accountability and the law.

When a national economic programme records disputed losses…
When a major power transaction faces international bribery allegations…
When corruption prosecutions confront the court calendar…
and when government revokes mining rights amid a due-process dispute…

Who watches the state when the state is the one exercising power?

Join Samson Lardy Anyenini and his panel this Saturday at 9 a.m. on JoyNews and MyJoyOnline for the facts, the arguments, and the questions Ghana must confront.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.