The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has formally rejected claims made in a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, which suggested that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) incurred losses of approximately $214 million under the Gold-for-Reserves programme.
In a detailed rebuttal issued on social media, GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi described the IMF’s findings as inaccurate and rooted in a misunderstanding of the Board’s operational mandate.
Income Surplus vs. Reported Losses
Contrary to the IMF’s assessment that the programme poses a downside risk to Ghana’s macroeconomic stability, Mr. Gyamfi stated that GoldBod is performing strongly.
- Income Surplus: The institution is on track to declare an income surplus of at least GH₵600 million for the 2025 financial year, according to published unaudited financial statements.
- Audit Status: The CEO noted that GoldBod is unaware of any $214 million loss, emphasizing that the financial statements for the Gold-for-Reserves and Gold-for-Forex programmes have not yet undergone a final audit.
Clarifying Fees and Mandates
A central point of the IMF’s report concerned “GoldBod off-taker fees.” Mr. Gyamfi clarified that no such fees exist under the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold trading programme.
“GoldBod does not deal with off-takers and does not charge any off-taker fees,” Gyamfi stated. He explained that all off-take agreements are negotiated and implemented exclusively by the Bank of Ghana.
He further detailed the actual fee structure:
- Statutory Assay Fee: 0.25%
- Service Charge: 0.5% These fees were inherited from a 2023 agreement with the former Precious Minerals Marketing Company and have remained unchanged throughout 2025.
Macroeconomic Impact and Forex Inflows
The CEO highlighted the massive contribution of the gold trading programmes to the national economy in 2025:
- Forex Generation: GoldBod generated over $10 billion in foreign exchange in 2025 through the purchase of more than 100 tonnes of ASM gold.
- Large-Scale Support: The Board also purchases 20% of the output from nine large-scale mining companies.
- International Reserves: These activities helped increase Ghana’s gross international reserves to approximately $12 billion in 2025 (up from $9 billion in 2016), supporting the appreciation of the cedi and easing inflation.
Looking Ahead to 2026
GoldBod announced a major structural shift starting in January 2026, where the Board will fully take over the ASM gold trading programme. Under this new arrangement, GoldBod will handle the purchasing, trading, and sale of gold independently, removing fee obligations to the Bank of Ghana and further strengthening the national gold trading framework.
Source: Citi News Room
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