Breaking: GoldBod Boss Slams GH₵1.7bn Loss Claims, Reveals the Truth

By Culture Gossip! • August 15, 2026 • 3 min read

Ghana's GoldBod has been accused of making a staggering US$1.7 billion loss. However, Associate Professor of Development Economics at the University of Ghana, Prof Ebo Turkson, has come to the entity's defense, saying the figure cited by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) relates to losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana through its Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

IMF's Loss Claim Misunderstood

The IMF, in its 2026 Article IV Consultation report on Ghana, said the significant scaling-up of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme in 2025 resulted in losses of more than US$1.7 billion, equivalent to about 1.5% of Ghana’s GDP. However, Prof Turkson clarified that this figure should not be attributed to GoldBod as an entity, but rather to the Bank of Ghana's Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

"No, GoldBod has not made 1.7 billion losses. It is a cost that has come to the central bank through the gold purchase programme," Prof Turkson stated on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, August 15.

The Real Story Behind GoldBod's Financial Statements

Prof Turkson explained that GoldBod purchases gold at prices close to international market rates, while the Bank of Ghana records the value of the gold using its own exchange rate for accounting purposes. This difference in rates creates a translation cost that is borne by the central bank. "The way between the two rates, by design, will mean that it will come at a cost to the central bank. And so that is one of the translational costs that has been on the central bank's book," he said.

The Economic Benefits of GoldBod's Programme

Prof Turkson argued that the IMF's reported figure should be understood as the cost of the gold purchase programme to the Bank of Ghana, rather than a loss incurred by GoldBod. He highlighted the economic benefits of the programme, including the accumulation of significant gold reserves and support for foreign exchange market interventions that contributed to the appreciation of the cedi in 2025.

GoldBod added almost 40 tonnes of gold, valued at nearly US$4 billion, to Ghana's reserves in its first year. The stronger cedi subsequently helped reduce Ghana's debt-to-GDP ratio from about 68 per cent to 45 per cent and generated savings of nearly GH¢7 billion on external debt servicing. "That came with a huge savings to Ghana, almost 7 billion cedis to Ghana, huge savings from that," Prof Turkson said.

Assessing the Programme's Impact

Prof Turkson linked the improved exchange rate to the decline in inflation, saying the appreciation of the cedi helped bring inflation down to 9.5 per cent at the end of 2025. He emphasized that Ghana must look beyond the reported loss and assess whether the policy intervention has helped strengthen the country's reserves and economic resilience.

"I think that we need to look beyond this amount and look at the benefits of the gold purchase programme and also to look at the way forward in Ghana, trying to build reserves to sustain the stability that we need for the resilience that we need for this economy to transform quickly," he said.

The debate surrounding the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme highlights the complexities of economic policy interventions and the need for nuanced understanding of their impacts. As Ghana continues to navigate its economic landscape, the discussion around the programme's costs and benefits will be crucial in shaping the country's future.

Source: Joy Online