Ghana's Minority Caucus in Parliament made a bombshell claim against the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) on 18 August, accusing it of "losing 22 billion Ghana cedis plus in one year." A day later, GoldBod's CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, rejected the claim, calling it "a barefaced lie."
IMF Documents Reveal Bank of Ghana's Losses
According to an IMF report, the Bank of Ghana's Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) did indeed incur significant losses in 2025, rising from roughly US$400 million in 2024 to "over $1.7 billion (1.5 percent of GDP)" in 2025. This loss is attributed to the Bank of Ghana itself, not GoldBod.
The report, IMF Country Report No. 26/212, states that "the BoG relied to accumulate reserves… has generated losses of GHS 22 billion." This figure matches the one cited by the Minority Caucus, but it's essential to note that it's the Bank of Ghana's loss, not GoldBod's.
GoldBod's Rebuttal: A Fee-Earning Agent, Not a Loss-Maker
GoldBod's CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, pointed out that the company did not take over full ownership of the programme until April 2026, well after the 2025 losses. During 2025, GoldBod was a fee-earning buying agent for the Bank of Ghana's DGPP, paying an assay fee of 0.258 percent and a service fee of 0.5 percent.
GoldBod's audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 show a surplus of GH₵5,443,990,347, up from GH₵185,342,031 in 2024. This appears to settle the matter, but the situation is more complicated than it initially suggests.
The Minority's Claim: A Misleading Attribution
The Minority Caucus quoted paragraph 13 of the IMF Selected Issues Paper (Country Report 26/213) verbatim, stating that the loss was "a combination of service and assay fees paid to Gold Board, discount on gold sold to off-takers… and, most importantly, exchange rate losses from the spread between Forex Bureau rate paid to purchase gold and the CD reference rate used for BOG accounting." However, this paragraph explicitly attributes the loss to the Bank of Ghana, not GoldBod.
The Minority's framing runs into trouble here, as nowhere in either IMF document does it say GoldBod caused the loss or that the loss sits on GoldBod's books. GoldBod's rebuttal is accurate on this narrow point, and the Minority's claim is misleading.
What's Next?
The controversy surrounding GoldBod's 2025 financials has raised questions about the accuracy of claims made by the Minority Caucus and the Ghana Gold Board. As the situation unfolds, it's essential to separate facts from misleading attributions. The IMF reports have provided clarity on the Bank of Ghana's losses, but the debate surrounding GoldBod's role in the matter remains.
Source: Joy Online
