Goldbod Imposes $1.7bn Debt On BoG -Minority

The Minority in Parliament has raised fresh concerns over the financial implications of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, claiming that the initiative operated through the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) cost the Bank of Ghana (BoG) GH¢22 billion in losses in 2025.

The Minority said the figure, equivalent to about US$1.7 billion and approximately 1.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was contained in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest assessment of Ghana’s economy.

At a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said the figure was not an allegation manufactured by the opposition, but was contained in the IMF’s report on Ghana.

According to him, the scale of the reported loss required a full examination of how the gold purchasing programme was structured, financed and managed.

The IMF report indicated that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, through which the Bank of Ghana accumulated gold and intermediated foreign exchange to the private sector, generated losses of more than US$1.7 billion in 2025.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said the development raised fundamental questions about the relationship between GoldBod and the central bank, particularly because GoldBod participated in the buying, aggregation, assaying and export of gold while the Bank of Ghana provided the financing.

He said the fact that the reported losses were reflected in the accounts of the Bank of Ghana rather than GoldBod should not obscure the economic impact on the country.

“The accounting location of a loss does not change its economic reality,” he said, arguing that Ghanaians were ultimately responsible for the financial consequences borne by state institutions.

GoldBod fees, BoG risk

The Minority’s major concern, Mr Afenyo-Markin said, was the structure under which GoldBod earned fees from transactions while the Bank of Ghana carried the principal financial risk.

He said GoldBod’s role included buying, aggregating, assaying and exporting gold, while the central bank supplied the funds used for the purchases.

He questioned whether such an arrangement created an imbalance in incentives, particularly where the institution undertaking commercial activities could earn transaction-based income while another institution absorbed the losses.

The Minority therefore called for details of the prices paid for gold, how those prices were determined, premiums paid to secure supplies and the selection of international off-takers.

It also demanded disclosure of the discounts at which doré gold was sold, the service and assay fees earned by GoldBod and the commercial risks borne by the institution.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said those details were necessary to determine whether the programme was operated with adequate pricing discipline and risk controls.

Questions over financing arrangement

The Minority also drew attention to a significant change in the financing arrangement between GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana.

According to the statement, GoldBod announced on August 11, 2026 that it had ended its role as a buying agent for the Bank of Ghana and had stopped receiving BoG funds to purchase gold on the Bank’s behalf since March 2026.GoldBod has instead moved towards mobilising financing directly from commercial banks and off-takers.

The Minority said the development raised questions about why the previous arrangement had been discontinued.It further pointed to the IMF’s recommendation that the Bank of Ghana should refrain from quasi-fiscal activities and that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme should be transferred fully to GoldBod to eliminate the associated risks.

“If the original structure was financially sound, properly priced and adequately risk-managed, why has the Bank of Ghana stopped financing GoldBod’s purchases?” the Minority questioned.

GoldBod’s surplus questioned

The Minority also challenged the argument that GoldBod itself had not recorded a loss.

The concerns come despite GoldBod’s reported GH¢5.44 billion overall surplus for the 2025 financial year, according to the Auditor-General’s report.

Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that GoldBod’s reported surplus did not necessarily represent the complete financial outcome of transactions undertaken with Bank of Ghana financing.

He maintained that costs borne by the central bank needed to be considered when assessing the overall performance of the programme.

The Minority said it was not opposed to the country’s gold purchase policy or the accumulation of gold reserves, noting that the programme had contributed to increased foreign exchange reserves and broader economic stability.

Rather, it wanted answers on the cost at which those benefits were achieved and whether the risks assumed by the state were properly managed.

Fresh parliamentary probe

The Minority has consequently announced plans to make a fresh attempt to secure a full parliamentary investigation into the programme when Parliament resumes.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority’s renewed push was based on new developments, including the latest IMF report, the reported losses, the negative equity position of the central bank and a fresh call for an investigation.

He said the Minority would demand that GoldBod provide its ledgers, the list of off-takers and aggregators and audited accounts for scrutiny.

 

 

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