An economist has questioned the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Gold Board’s dismissal of reported losses from the country’s gold operations, citing contradictions with International Monetary Fund disclosures in a sharply worded public statement.
Frank Bannor, senior research fellow at the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), challenged the central bank’s Thursday statement describing the loss figures as speculative. The Bank of Ghana rejected claims about losses from its gold transactions, arguing that its annual external audit remains incomplete and audited financial statements will be published next year.
Bannor said the central bank’s position contradicts information in the IMF’s fifth review report under Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme. That report followed formal engagements between IMF officials and Ghanaian authorities, including the central bank itself. The economist questioned whether the Bank of Ghana had been unaware of the IMF document’s contents before its publication.
“Whoever issued that statement on behalf of the Bank of Ghana should bow his head in shame,” Bannor wrote in his Facebook post, directing criticism at the central bank’s response. He asked why the institution had not challenged the figures during its final engagement with the IMF if they were indeed inaccurate.
The IMF report disclosed that losses from artisanal and small scale gold doré transactions under the programme reached $214 million by the end of September 2025, representing approximately 0.2 percent of gross domestic product. The Fund attributed these losses primarily to trading shortfalls and Ghana Gold Board intermediary fees.
Bannor said both institutions owed the public a transparent explanation for the reported losses. He emphasized the potential social impact of the funds, noting that the amount could have employed more than 150,000 trained but unemployed health workers or cleared a year’s salary arrears owed to teachers. “These are not abstract figures,” he said, adding the money could have improved livelihoods and strengthened essential public services.
The losses stem from how the Ghana Gold Board prices gold purchases and sales. The Board buys gold from small scale miners at prevailing world market prices, sometimes paying above spot price to discourage smuggling. However, Ghana exports this unrefined gold at a discount of 3 to 5 percent on the international market to account for refining, assay risk, transport and financing costs.
Ghana realized about $3,919 per ounce in October when the average world price stood at $4,054, representing a shortfall of roughly $135 per ounce. The Bank of Ghana also pays the Gold Board a 0.5 percent service fee and a 0.258 percent assay fee on transactions.
The Bank of Ghana defended the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) as a policy tool that helped boost international reserves, supported currency stability and enabled access to large volumes of foreign exchange without incurring new debt. The central bank noted that provisional data suggests international reserves could exceed $13 billion by the end of 2025.
The IMF warned that the domestic gold purchase programme poses risks to the financial sustainability of the Bank of Ghana, though it acknowledged the programme’s broader macroeconomic contribution. The Fund praised Ghana’s overall progress, noting that real GDP growth exceeded expectations while inflation declined faster than projected.
The Ghana Gold Board was established with an initial business model to act as sole buyer and exporter of gold from Ghana’s small scale mining sector, funded by a $279 million revolving fund in the 2025 budget. By September’s end, the Board had not received these budgeted funds and now operates primarily as an intermediary, collecting funds for gold purchases conducted on behalf of clients including the Bank of Ghana.
The Bank of Ghana’s Board recently approved reforms to improve pricing and operational efficiency in the programme’s downstream segment. These reforms, scheduled to begin in January 2026, will focus on reducing intermediation fees and improving cost efficiency, supported by allocations in the 2026 national budget to fully resource the Gold Board.
Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi previously described reports about the losses as misleading. The Board generated over $8 billion in foreign exchange between January and October 2025, marking a sharp increase from $4.61 billion recorded in 2024.
Bannor, who lectures at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, has frequently critiqued government economic claims. Earlier this year, he challenged Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson’s assertion about non-oil GDP growth rates, citing contradictory Ghana Statistical Service data.