The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), a crucial entity overseeing the gold industry, has recently faced a significant challenge from Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who is demanding evidence from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding alleged losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP). The issue has ignited a protracted debate within Parliament, with the MP asserting that GoldBod’s audited accounts may conceal significant transaction costs absorbed by the BoG, effectively absolving the Board of accountability.
The crux of the dispute revolves around the IMF’s report, which, according to Mr. Gyamfi, directly implicates GoldBod in losses. At a press conference on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Mr. Gyamfi stated that while the Auditor-General has conducted an audit, he contends that the Auditor-General was not provided full access to the complete picture, claiming that the Auditor-General’s assessment doesn’t reflect the full extent of GoldBod’s transaction costs.
He further questioned the commercial rationale behind reported losses, arguing that ‘trading in gold and incurring losses’ is an unusual occurrence. Mr. Gyamfi contends that the IMF report highlights the Bank of Ghana’s losses through the sale of gold under the DGPP, rather than attributing blame to GoldBod, suggesting the IMF’s findings point to the BoG as the primary source of these losses.
This challenge is compounded by a recent motion filed in Parliament by the Effutu MP, Sammy Gyamfi, demanding a formal account from GoldBod’s management regarding the losses incurred under the DGPP. Mr. Gyamfi has challenged Afenyo-Markin to provide specific sections of the IMF report supporting his claim that GoldBod is responsible for the reported losses. He stated that the IMF report, according to Mr. Gyamfi, points to the Bank of Ghana incurring losses through the sale of gold, not identifying GoldBod as the entity responsible for these losses.”
The IMF has consistently maintained that the losses were due to the scaling up of the DGPP, not a direct attribution to GoldBod. The report, according to the IMF, reveals that the Bank of Ghana incurred losses through the sale of gold under the DGPP, rather than identifying GoldBod as the institution responsible for those losses. The IMF’s findings indicate that the 2025 figure, representing a $400 million loss, partly reflects valuation effects and identified several components of the losses, including fees paid to GoldBod under the DGPP.
Furthermore, the report details the accounting losses, which partly reflected valuation effects and identified several components of the losses, including fees paid to GoldBod under the DGPP. The IMF’s statement indicates that this loss was partly reflected in the valuation effects and the identification of several components of the losses, including fees paid to GoldBod under the DGPP. The IMF attributed the 2025 figure to the scaling up of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Sammy Gyamfi emphasized that the opposition’s position has shifted from alleging GoldBod’s incompetence to asserting responsibility for losses recorded by the Bank of Ghana, a fundamental change in narrative. He accused political opponents of repeatedly invoking the IMF report without providing the specific passages that support their interpretations. He asserted that the IMF report often presents the IMF’s findings as an accusation, and that the public must assess the evidence in context.
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Source: MyJoyOnline
