Kofi Tonto, an aide to former Vice President and 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has strongly defended Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin against criticism over his frequent media engagements on behalf of the party’s parliamentary caucus.
Speaking during an interview, Kofi Tonto rejected claims by NDC Communications Team member Hamza Sayibu Suhuyini that press conferences should normally be addressed by ranking members of Parliament.
According to Kofi Tonto, the NPP is responsible for deciding who represents its caucus in public discussions, and the NDC has no authority to dictate how the opposition party conducts its affairs.
He argued that the NDC made changes to its Majority Leadership without consulting the NPP and should therefore not interfere in the opposition party’s decisions.
Kofi Tonto was particularly emphatic in defending Mr Afenyo-Markin, insisting that the Minority Leader would continue speaking on issues affecting the NPP and Parliament.
“Afenyo-Markin will speak today, tomorrow, and the day after,” he said, dismissing the criticism directed at the Minority Leader.
Mr Tonto also defended Mr Afenyo-Markin’s recent scrutiny of the government’s management of Ghana’s gold resources through the Gold Board (GoldBod), led by Sammy Gyamfi.
He pointed to Ghana’s gold reserves, arguing that holdings increased significantly from about 8.7 tonnes in 2017 to 30 tonnes by the time the previous NPP administration left office.
He questioned why the NDC government should receive credit for expanding GoldBod’s operations if the institution was also reporting losses.
Mr Tonto argued that the government had previously criticised the policy and promised to manage it more effectively if given the opportunity.
He further claimed that the reported losses could have consequences for the Bank of Ghana’s financial position, particularly its already negative equity.
