The Bank of Ghana (BoG) will stop engaging in the small scale gold trading business from January 1, 2026, marking a significant shift in the country’s gold sector operations.
Governor Dr Johnson Asiama submitted a proposal to the BoG board in November 2025 to exit the Artisanal Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) gold trading segment under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), and the proposal received approval. The central bank will continue its broader DGPP operations while fully transferring the small scale segment to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
Sources say the move will allow the Bank of Ghana to focus on other segments of the DGPP as well as its core mandate of inflation targeting and price stability. Officials emphasized the decision arose from strategic restructuring rather than external criticism.
The Finance Minister, Dr Ato Forson, advanced approximately 4.4 billion cedis to GoldBod in the 2025 Budget, a move expected to enable GoldBod to completely assume operations while the central bank no longer incurs related costs starting next year. In 2026, GoldBod will control the entire gold supply chain and sell the gold proceeds in US dollars to the Bank of Ghana in exchange for cedis for subsequent gold purchases.
The transition comes amid debate over financial performance of the gold programme. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its fifth staff review report, noted that losses from artisanal and small scale gold transactions under the Gold for Reserves programme reached $214 million within the first nine months of 2025.
However, a senior official at the bank described the IMF’s opinion as not accurate, noting that the figures are not audited and involve dynamic gold and foreign exchange markets. The Bank of Ghana has described the exposure loss linked to its relationship with GoldBod as premature, arguing that it has not published its financials and any loss or gain cannot be solely attributed to GoldBod exposure but rather to market conditions.
GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi stated the board has made no losses and recorded profits in 2025, with unaudited financial statements showing an expected income surplus of not less than 600 million cedis. He explained that GoldBod’s role in 2025 was limited to buying gold locally, testing its quality, and exporting it for the Bank of Ghana, while the sale and trading of the gold remained the central bank’s sole responsibility.
The Ghana Gold Board was established under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which was assented to on April 2, 2025. The legislation granted GoldBod exclusive authority to buy, sell, weigh, grade, assay, value, and export gold and other precious minerals from artisanal and small scale operations. The Act replaced the Precious Minerals Marketing Company and introduced a robust licensing regime prioritizing Ghanaian companies and citizens while barring foreign nationals from local gold trading.
Financial sector stakeholders are monitoring the transition closely as Ghana restructures its gold value chain while aligning central bank priorities with broader economic objectives.