The Minority in Parliament has issued a formal challenge to GoldBod, the Ghana Gold Board, demanding a comprehensive accounting of losses incurred from gold trading operations, particularly concerning a reported $1.7 billion loss in 2025 representing a significant 1.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This comes amidst a concerning report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which indicated that GoldBod’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, implemented through the institution, recorded a total of $1.7 billion in losses in 2025, a figure equivalent to 1.5 per cent of Ghana’s GDP.
The challenge, delivered by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin on Tuesday, August 18th, highlights a growing concern within Parliament regarding the extent to which GoldBod should be credited for foreign exchange gains generated from its trading activities, while simultaneously disowning the resulting losses. He questioned the extent to which GoldBod should account for the full cost of these activities, including fees, asset management costs, and losses arising from pricing and sales decisions. Specifically, he demanded a complete accounting of the revenue stream from gold transactions, including the associated fees and asset management costs.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin further emphasized the need for transparency regarding the transactions that led to these losses. He questioned the identity of the individuals or entities benefiting from discounted gold sales, demanding greater visibility into the transactions themselves. He explicitly stated that GoldBod should not be credited for foreign exchange generated while simultaneously disowning the costs associated with those gains.
He also raised concerns about the arrangement under which the Bank of Ghana provides funds for gold purchases, allegedly carrying the resulting losses onto the Bank of Ghana’s balance sheet. This, he argued, effectively separates the benefits of the gold trade from the risks, creating a situation where the profit of GoldBod is not adequately reflected in the country’s financial statements.
The Minority Leader stressed that the concerns weren’t about denying GoldBod credit for its reported profits, but rather about examining the underlying transactions and costs that generated those returns. He reiterated that GoldBod’s published figures represent its own accounting of profits, not the complete picture of the entire trade.
He stated that GoldBod is obligated to answer the question of why the losses that resulted from the trade should be attributed to someone else. GoldBod is happy to take credit for the foreign exchange he claims to have generated, but it goes quiet as we ask about the very trade that discounted sales, the fee arrangement, that produced that forex in the first place. He emphasized that you cannot claim the upside of a trade and disown a downside, and that GoldBod’s current practices effectively allow the profits of the trade to be hidden from the public.
Furthermore, he asserted that the arrangement had essentially separated the benefits of the transactions from the risks, leaving the central bank and ultimately the taxpayer to bear the losses. He demanded answers from GoldBod regarding the identities of its off-takers, the rationale for discounted gold sales, and the justification for the bank’s mandate to generate losses that weren’t transparently disclosed. The inquiry underscores a growing tension between the regulatory oversight of GoldBod and the potential for hidden financial risks within the gold trading sector, raising concerns about accountability and transparency within Ghana’s financial landscape.
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Source: Graphic Online
