Attah Issah, the Sagnarigu Member of Parliament, has contested the International Monetary Fund’s assessment that Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) under the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and Goldbod generated more than $1.7 billion in losses.
The MP argued that the $1.7 billion in losses reflects accounting treatment rather than an actual cash loss to the state.
According to the MP, while the government acknowledges the concerns raised by the IMF, the losses should not be interpreted as money that was lost through failed gold transactions.
He argued that the difference between the IMF’s assessment and the Bank of Ghana’s reporting was due to the methodologies used in calculating the losses.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, August 5, Attah Issah stated, “Let me say that as a government, I do acknowledge the concern raised by the IMF regarding the loss incurred under the Gold Purchase Programme. I am not in the business of disputing properly audited losses,” he said, adding that “but for an attempt to present a programme cost as profit, I will never do that.”
“The term loss should not be misunderstood by the public. It does not necessarily mean the amount of gold that has not been accounted for. The losses, from my perspective, arise from transactional and accounting factors,” he said.
“For example, premiums paid to purchase gold from aggregators and intermediaries. We were very clear that the exchange rate that you offer to attract people not smuggling gold outside, you have to pay them a different rate,” he explained.
“That exchange differential is an accounting loss and not an economic or technical loss,” he added.
It will be recalled thee International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) lost $1.7 billion through the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD).
In a post shared by Data Scientist and Policy Analyst, Alfred Appiah, on X detailed that the Bank of Ghana’s losses on its 2025 Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme (DGPP) via GoldBod reached $1.7 billion, far above the previously reported $214 million.
Alfred Appiah also shared an excerpt of the IMF report confirming the scaling of operations led to these losses primarily from G4R doré purchases, service fees, and discounts.
The Policy Analyst in a post detailed, “It turns out the Bank of Ghana lost far more on its domestic gold purchasing programme, implemented through GoldBod, in 2025 than was initially reported.
The $214 million that generated so much discussion was only a fraction of the total. According to the latest disclosures in the IMF report, the Bank of Ghana recorded losses of about $1.7 billion on the programme in 2025, compared with about 400 million dollars in 2024. In effect, the Bank of Ghana lost about 14.5 dollars for every 100 dollars worth of gold purchased in 2025.
To be fair, roughly half of those losses arose from the exchange rate differential between the Bank of Ghana’s accounting exchange rate and the forex bureau rate used to purchase gold from artisanal and small-scale miners.
Even after accounting for that, the losses remain substantial. They are large enough to erode GoldBod’s trading capital and create significant fiscal risks, particularly now that the government intends to make budgetary provisions to support GoldBod’s operations. The government says it will reduce the cost to 5 dollars for every 100 dollars worth of gold purchased. We will have to monitor whether that target is achieved.
In my view, Goldbod also needs to maintain a permanent discount on ASM gold purchases to help offset some of these trading costs. The prices paid for ASM gold are currently among the highest in the region. At the same time, the ASM sector contributes very little in taxes despite accounting for the majority of Ghana’s gold exports, while the environmental destruction from illegal mining continues.
As it stands, we are paying premium prices for galamsey gold while bearing much of the environmental and fiscal cost”.
@ghnow_ Hon. Amed Shaibu Joins Minority MPs and NPP Supporters for “Democracy Under Attack” Demo #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Minority MPs Join “Democracy Under Attack” Demonstration Or: Minority Members of Parliament have joined the “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration, alongside NPP supporters and other participants calling attention to their concerns over Ghana’s democracy. 🇬🇭 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
