Source: Africa Publicity
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has insisted that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) recorded a revenue loss of about $214 million.
According to the IMF, its assessment of the revenue loss at GoldBod remains unchanged.
The assessment is contained in an IMF report which was discussed in the Staff Report for the Fifth Review of Ghana’s IMF-supported programme.
Answering questions from journalists at a press conference on Thursday, January 15, 2026, IMF Director of Communications, Julie Kozack, says although the programme helped build international reserves and reduced pressure on Ghana’s foreign exchange market during a challenging period, it also resulted in a government-related revenue loss of $214 million.
According to her, the losses came from trading activities, fees, and exchange rate movements.
She said while the $214 million loss is not formally captured on the Ghanaian government’s fiscal balance sheet, it ultimately represents cost to Ghana.
Kozack says “On the benefit side, what we see is a contribution to a buildup of international reserves and reduced pressure on the foreign exchange market during a difficult period for Ghana. The report also quantified what we call a quasi-fiscal loss. Quasi-fiscal meaning because it’s not on the fiscal balance sheet, but ultimately it is a fiscal loss. And that loss was $214 million that the team quantified.”
She added that “The loss stemmed from trading activities, fees, exchange rate movements. And to help address this, our recommendation is to strengthen transparency, governance, and risk management, especially for the GoldBod-linked channel under this domestic gold purchase program. We also strongly recommend that the losses should be brought on balance sheet rather than held on the balance sheet of the Central Bank.”
Reforms
Due to the losses, the IMF has recommended stronger transparency, governance, and risk management, particularly for operations linked to the GoldBoard under the programme.
The IMF is also urging that such losses be reflected on the government’s budget balance sheet rather than remaining on the books of the Bank of Ghana.
She says “This is important to ensure that the Bank of Ghana remains well.”
