Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, appears to have his job on the line following a viral video of him giving an undisclosed amount of United States (US) dollars to Patricia Oduro Koranteng, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, a former fetish priestess turned evangelist.
Calls for President John Dramani Mahama to take action against Sammy Gyamfi, who is also the National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have been followed by a summons of the CEO by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah.
According to reports, the Chief of Staff wants the Goldbod CEO to explain the circumstances surrounding his action, which has drawn disenchantment against the government and raised concerns about the ethical conduct of public officials.
But has Sammy Gyamfi, who would be leading what some have described as the biggest state-owned agency of the current government, violated the Code of Conduct which was launched literally days ago by President John Mahama?
What the Code of Conduct says about giving a gift:
Sammy Gyamfi, in an apology he posted on social media, explained that he was only helping a person in need, as he has been doing.
Sections of the Code of Conduct perhaps touch on public officers receiving gifts and giving out hampers, including gifts.
Section 1.5.12 of the Code of Conduct, which touches on “Gifts,” bars public officers from soliciting “gifts in cash or kind” in the line of their duties. It, however, states that the “exchange of gifts” is permissible because “refusing such a gift may cause offence.”
The code, however, states that gifts received by public officers must be submitted to the Secretary to the Cabinet.
“a. The Minister must submit any gift received, in Ghana or from overseas, to the Secretary to Cabinet for appropriate display;
b. Where the Minister wishes to retain gifts received, he may do so only if the estimated value does not exceed GH¢20,000;
c. Where the estimated value of the gift is more than GH¢20,000, the Minister may retain the gift during office but must declare it to Cabinet in the interest of transparency;
d. Upon leaving office, the Minister must relinquish to Cabinet any gift estimated to be worth over GH¢20,000, unless the Minister obtains the express permission of the President to retain it,” part of the code reads.
Section 1.5.13 of the Code of Conduct, which is titled “Hampers,” also bars public officials from giving out gifts using government funds, including internally generated funds.
“For government entities that must distribute hampers as part of their corporate commercial policy, express written permission for the budgeted expenditure must be received from the Office of the Chief of Staff,” it adds.
From the face of the regulations of the 2025 Code of Conduct, Sammy Gyamfi may be in the league of ‘having done no wrong.’
From the analysis, he has not received any gift in the line of his duties as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Gold Board, and which he has refused to disclose to the Secretary of Cabinet, nor has it been proven that the dollars he gave to Agradaa were state funds or part of the internally generated funds of the board.
But why has his action caused the government discontent, with many calling for his head?
What the legal experts have said
Even though Sammy Gyamfi’s actions appear not to have violated any of the regulations stated in the 2025 Code of Conduct, a number of legal experts, including Zakaria Tanko, lawyer and senior lecturer at UNIMAC-GIJ, have said that his action was wrong.
He said that even though the acting CEO’s action might not directly violate any listed regulation of the 2025 Code of Conduct, his action violates the principle behind it.
He added that it would be wrong to say that Sammy Gyamfi has done nothing wrong without looking at the entire purpose for the establishment of the Code of Conduct.
“The preamble to the Code of Conduct, the president gave in his message… says, ‘This Code of Conduct clearly states my expectation of a government of integrity, honesty, impartiality, respect, decency, incorruptibility, competency, professionalism.’
“… this is where it is very crucial ‘and standards of conduct that can withstand the closest public scrutiny.’ This is very crucial. Sometimes, what you are doing might ordinarily not be anything, but what will the ordinary person say if he is asked a question (about this)?” he said.
Zakaria Tanko also explained that even though the Code of Conduct does not categorically state that the giving of gifts by public officials is wrong, it is implied.
“It is implied. If you are giving, it takes a giver for somebody to receive. And even in the Criminal Code, the giver and the taker are all culpable,” he said.
Others have also argued that the action of Sammy Gyamfi goes contrary to President John Dramani Mahama’s caution to his appointees to avoid the public display of opulence and must be punished.
“The hallmark of this government will be modesty and respect for the Ghanaian people. Resources that you’ll be working with belong to the Ghanaian people who put us in office. Those resources are not to be wasted on opulence and extravagance. Also, all traces of affluence and lavish lifestyle are to be avoided,” President Mahama is quoted to have said.
For many others, Sammy Gyamfi being caught in public dishing out quite a huge amount of dollars does no good to President Mahama’s objective of a government with no trace of affluence and lavish lifestyle.
BAI/AE
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