The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) operations are increasingly imposing significant losses on the Bank of Ghana’s balance sheet, triggering considerable concern about the true fiscal cost of the government’s domestic gold purchasing program. Professor Godfred Bokpin, an economist specializing in fiscal policy, has voiced these anxieties, highlighting a critical issue – the escalating financial burden placed on the central bank’s balance sheet.
Prof. Bokpin acknowledged GoldBod’s role in bolstering foreign exchange inflows by purchasing gold from artisanal and small-scale miners, yet he argued that the program’s scale lacked sufficient consideration of the full cost chain across the gold value. He stated, “The losses are not immediately reflected in Ghana’s public debt figures because the country currently lacks a general government accounting approach for our debt.”
He further emphasized that the Central Bank of Ghana, as the residual risk claimant, is accumulating liabilities on its books, potentially requiring government recapitalization. This situation, he explained, mirrors the experience of the Bank of Ghana itself, where the loss-making GoldBod’s operations have resulted in a similar, albeit more recent, situation within the central bank’s balance sheet.
He contended that the Bank of Ghana’s backstopping of GoldBod has effectively become the residual risk claimant, exposing the balance sheet to technical, economic, and valuation losses. He pointed out that without the central bank’s proactive support, some of the losses would have instead appeared on the GoldBod’s books or the Ministry of Finance’s.
Professor Bokpin expressed specific concern about the Bank of Ghana’s role in financing and backstopping GoldBod’s operations. He asserted that the central bank had become the residual risk claimant, intensifying the financial exposure for the Bank of Ghana, a point repeatedly questioned by GoldBod’s leadership. He asserted that the IMF’s earlier estimate of approximately $214 million in losses associated with GoldBod’s domestic gold purchasing operations was, he said, ‘quite instructive’. The response from GoldBod, he noted, was categorical – ‘There are no such losses.’
Despite his criticism, Prof. Bokpin indicated that GoldBod’s intervention had produced measurable benefits, including narrowing the gap between Ghana’s reported gold exports and imports recorded by destination countries. He attributed this partly to GoldBod’s operations, arguing that a more comprehensive value-chain analysis prior to GoldBod’s operationalization could have mitigated the losses.
He cautioned against overemphasizing the macroeconomic gains from GoldBod, emphasizing that the IMF has consistently recommended that the Bank of Ghana be shielded from direct financial exposure to GoldBod. He said the Fund was not necessarily opposed to the continuation of GoldBod’s operations but wanted mechanisms put in place to ensure that losses from the program do not weaken the central bank’s balance sheet.
Furthermore, Prof. Bokpin criticized what he described as a lack of humility in policymaking, arguing that government could become too focused on defending a policy once its costs begin to emerge. He cautioned against emphasizing the macroeconomic gains from GoldBod while downplaying the costs being incurred elsewhere in the financial system. He concluded by stating that the IMF has consistently recommended that the Bank of Ghana be shielded from direct financial exposure to GoldBod.
He cited Mr. Gyamfi’s rejection of claims that the GoldBod institution has incurred losses, describing such assertions as ‘false’ and suggesting that the institution utilized ‘accounting gimmicks’ to present the institution as profitable. The Minority in Parliament, however, maintained their claim that GoldBod has suffered significant losses. The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accused management of using what he described as ‘accounting gimmicks’ to present the institution as profitable. The conflicting assessments have intensified scrutiny of GoldBod’s finances and the extent to which its operations may be creating financial exposure for the Bank of Ghana and, ultimately, the state.
GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi has refuted claims that the institution has incurred losses, stating that such assertions are ‘false.’ He has cited GoldBod’s audited 2025 financial statements, which he says recorded an operational surplus of GH¢907 million and an overall surplus of GH¢5.4 billion for the 2025 financial year.
The conflict has intensified scrutiny of GoldBod’s finances and the extent to which its operations may be creating financial exposure for the Bank of Ghana and, ultimately, the state.
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Source: MyJoyOnline
