BoG’s Gold-for-Reserves Gamble Bleeds Billions as Losses Hit Over GH¢7bn

The Bank of Ghana’s flagship Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), rolled out at the height of the country’s economic crisis to stabilise the cedi and rebuild foreign exchange buffers, has recorded staggering losses running into billions of cedis since its inception in 2021, official figures from the central bank reveal.

In a formal response dated January 12, 2026, to a request from the Multimedia Group, the Bank of Ghana disclosed that the programme and its related Gold for Reserves (G4R) operations have collectively generated net losses of over GH¢7 billion between 2022 and 2024, with additional figures for 2025 still pending external audit confirmation.

The data, signed by Ernest Nii Sowah Ahulu, Acting Head of the Financial Markets Department, provides the clearest official breakdown yet of the financial performance of the controversial gold-based intervention, which has been central to the government’s economic recovery narrative.

Losses mount year after year

According to the Bank’s own table, losses under the DGPP and associated programmes accelerated sharply over a three-year period.

In 2022, the programme recorded total net losses of GH¢74.44 million, despite relatively small volumes of gold purchases. That figure jumped dramatically in 2023 to GH¢1.37 billion, before ballooning further in 2024 to a staggering GH¢5.66 billion.

By the end of 2024 alone, cumulative losses from net G40 and net G4R transactions had reached approximately GH¢7.1 billion, raising serious questions about the cost-effectiveness and risk management framework underpinning the initiative.

Figures for 2025, which show a sharp increase in gold volumes—over 110 tonnes in total—are still under audit and have not yet been assigned loss values.

The Bank of Ghana disclosed that gold purchases under the programme expanded rapidly over time. Total gold quantities rose from 3.47 tonnes in 2022 to 37.02 tonnes in 2023, 56.47 tonnes in 2024, and a dramatic 110.99 tonnes in 2025.

In value terms, total gold purchases surged from US$194.43 million in 2022 to US$1.55 billion in 2023, US$4.07 billion in 2024, and US$11.39 billion in 2025.

Despite this expansion, the programme struggled to translate higher volumes into financial gains, instead posting escalating losses attributed to both gold and oil-linked transactions under the G40 framework, as well as losses tied to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold and other segments of the G4R programme.

The Bank noted that total losses include ASM-related losses of GH¢74 million in 2022, GH¢152.15 million in 2023, and GH¢54.84 million in 2024, underscoring structural challenges in sourcing, pricing and managing locally produced gold.

Strategic intent versus fiscal reality

The Bank of Ghana defended the DGPP as a “strategic programme” aligned with its core mandate of ensuring currency stability. According to the letter, the programme was designed to increase and diversify foreign exchange reserves while strengthening confidence in the economy through improved FX buffers.

However, the scale of the losses now disclosed is likely to intensify public and parliamentary scrutiny, particularly at a time when the central bank itself has faced criticism over its balance sheet health, governance issues, and the broader costs of crisis-era interventions.

Economists have long warned that while gold-backed strategies can offer short-term FX relief, they expose central banks to commodity price volatility, operational inefficiencies, and fiscal risks if not carefully structured and transparently managed.

Accountability questions resurface

The revelation comes amid ongoing debate over the true cost of Ghana’s unconventional economic interventions during the crisis years, including gold-for-oil deals and quasi-fiscal operations undertaken by the central bank.

With billions of cedis now confirmed as losses, pressure is mounting for greater disclosure on how these transactions were structured, who bore the risks, and what safeguards—if any—were in place to protect public funds.

The post BoG’s Gold-for-Reserves Gamble Bleeds Billions as Losses Hit Over GH¢7bn appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.

Read Full Story