…Labels it as ‘complete falsehood’
By Manuel Sackey
The Ghana Gold Board has rejected allegations circulating on social media that it awarded an office renovation contract through sole sourcing and bought laptops at inflated prices.
In a statement issued by its Media Relations Officer Prince Kwame Minka, the Board described the claims as false and misleading and insisted that all procurement processes followed the law and were approved by the Public Procurement Authority.
The controversy centres on two claims: that the Board awarded an GH¢11 million office renovation contract through sole sourcing to a company linked to Stan Dogbe, and that it purchased 15 laptops at an inflated cost of GHS322,500.
Responding to the first allegation, the Board said it had to relocate after its establishment in April 2025 when more than 300 workers were recruited to strengthen the workforce of the former Precious Minerals Marketing Company.
According to the statement, the old office at Diamond House had become inadequate for the new organisational structure.
To address the space challenge, the Board rented the old Bank of Ghana Head Office building on Thorpe Road in Accra to serve as its operational headquarters. The building, it said, had previously been described by the central bank as structurally defective and unsuitable for use.
The Board said it therefore undertook renovation works to make the building fit for purpose.
It explained that approval was sought from the Public Procurement Authority on May 26 2025 to use a restricted tendering process for the project. The Authority granted the request on June 24 2025.
According to the statement, three companies were shortlisted and participated in the tender, with Correca Ghana Limited emerging as the winning bidder.
The Board stressed that the contract was not awarded through sole sourcing as alleged.
It added that the contractor had since completed the renovation works in line with the contract and that details of the agreement were published on the Board’s official website on March 10 2026 in line with transparency requirements under the Ghana Gold Board Act.
On the second allegation concerning the laptop purchase, the Board said the devices were procured in November 2025 for newly appointed directors and deputy directors.
It explained that approval was granted by the Public Procurement Authority to use a single source procurement method because only one supplier at the time had the required quantity of the specified laptop and could meet the delivery deadline.
The supplier, GET4LESS Ghana Limited, provided 15 Lenovo ThinkPad T14S laptops at a total cost of GHS322,500, representing GHS21,500 per unit including taxes.
The Board said the price was consistent with the open market value of the device and matched the listed price on the supplier’s website.
It therefore dismissed claims of inflated pricing, saying the purchase price was competitive.
The Board further noted that the Ministry of Finance granted commitment authorisation for the transaction in accordance with procurement regulations.
According to the statement, details of the laptop procurement contract were also published on the Board’s website on March 10 2026.
The Ghana Gold Board said it remains committed to transparency and accountability and urged the public to disregard what it described as attempts to spread misinformation about its operations.