Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has announced plans to publicly address allegations surrounding the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) reported 214 million dollar loss under the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Gold for Reserves (G4R) programme, promising detailed clarification beginning Monday, January 5, 2026. Gyamfi released preliminary data Monday, December 29, accusing the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority of hypocrisy while defending the programme’s macroeconomic contributions.
In a statement shared on social media responding to a Minority press conference earlier that day, Gyamfi characterized opposition criticism as uninformed and unfounded, arguing that losses have decreased substantially under current management despite purchasing significantly larger gold volumes at higher prices. He released what he described as audited figures showing Bank of Ghana losses from artisanal small scale gold purchases under both G4R and Gold for Oil (G4O) programmes during NPP administration.
For 2023, Gyamfi stated that G4O gold component losses recorded 1.18 billion cedis while G4R losses reached 973 million cedis, bringing total losses for the year to 2.15 billion cedis. In 2024, audited figures showed G4O losses of 667.79 million cedis and G4R losses of 4.18 billion cedis, producing total losses for 2024 at 4.84 billion cedis, according to the GoldBod chief executive.
For 2025, Gyamfi explained that the G4O programme has been discontinued while G4R losses remain unaudited. He cited the IMF’s estimate of approximately 2.3 billion cedis, equivalent to about 214 million dollars, in losses between January and September 2025. However, he noted that the NPP Minority has placed the unaudited 2025 G4R losses at 300 million dollars, equivalent to about 3.3 billion cedis.
Describing the situation as a paradox, Gyamfi questioned why the NPP, under whose administration cumulative losses of about seven billion cedis were recorded between 2023 and 2024, was now calling for a probe into what he claims represents a significant reduction in losses. He argued that NPP is now demanding investigation into how BoG and GoldBod have reduced their recurring losses to 3.3 billion cedis, characterizing the opposition position as a joke.
Gyamfi further linked the performance of gold programmes to broader economic indicators. He noted that during the period when higher losses were recorded under NPP administration, the Ghana cedi depreciated cumulatively by 27.8 percent in 2023 and 19.2 percent in 2024, while inflation stood at 22.3 percent in 2023 and 23.8 percent in 2024.
By contrast, he stated that in 2025, inflation has declined for 11 consecutive months falling from 23.8 percent to 6.3 percent, while the cedi has appreciated by over 35 percent against the US dollar, a development he described as unprecedented since 2007. Despite the criticisms, Gyamfi said GoldBod and its partners welcome calls for an independent probe into the programme.
The Minority in Parliament has raised grave concerns over GoldBod operations, warning that Ghana risks losing up to 300 million dollars in 2025 under what it describes as a deeply flawed and opaque gold trading arrangement threatening the economy, environment, and national institutions. Addressing media during the Christmas period, the Minority said it was compelled to suspend holidays to alert the nation to what it termed darkness beneath the glow of Christmas lights.
Citing an IMF report, the Minority noted that 214 million dollars had already been lost within the first nine months of 2025 under the G4R programme but cautioned that the true scale of losses goes beyond what is publicly reported. Central to the Minority’s concerns is the role of Bawa Rock Limited, owned by Alhaji Rashid Bawa Namoro, which they allege has been made the sole aggregator licensed by GoldBod to purchase artisanal and small scale gold across the country.
The Minority questioned why a monopoly was deliberately created in an industry where competition is critical to transparency and fair pricing. They demanded answers on how Bawa Rock was selected, who its beneficial owners are, and why all gold suppliers must route their products through a single private entity before reaching GoldBod and ultimately BoG. Until these questions are answered publicly, no Ghanaian can trust the integrity of this scheme, the Minority declared.
According to the Minority, the losses stem from the structural design of the programme rather than market fluctuations. They explained that GoldBod pays miners at global market prices and prevailing forex bureau rates but later sells the dollars earned from offshore buyers to BoG at weaker interbank rates. The resulting exchange rate losses, they argue, are transferred directly to the central bank, forcing the state to absorb the financial hit while intermediaries remain protected.
The Minority contrasted the current arrangement with the original G4R programme under NPP administration, under which Ghana’s gold reserves increased from 8.7 tonnes to 31 tonnes in under two years without reported losses. Under current administration, however, reserves have reportedly increased by only seven tonnes despite large volumes of gold passing through GoldBod. They accused government of shifting the programme from a strategic reserve building initiative to a gold trading operation driven by rent seeking rather than national interest.
Beyond financial implications, the Minority warned of social costs of the reported losses, noting that 214 million dollars could have funded dozens of hospitals, thousands of boreholes, and critical infrastructure for deprived communities. They also linked GoldBod operations to worsening environmental destruction, alleging that inability to meet Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) traceability standards has effectively turned state sanctioned gold buying into a laundering channel for illegal mining known as galamsey.
The Minority criticized what it described as official arrogance, pointing to public statements dismissing losses as speculative despite the IMF relying on data submitted by Ghana itself. They further accused government of lacking original ideas, arguing that GoldBod is merely a rebranding of existing NPP era initiatives such as G4R and G4O without the technical competence required to operate in global commodities markets.
In response, the Minority outlined four key demands: establishing a Parliamentary Ad Hoc Investigative Committee with powers to subpoena contracts, licenses, and intermediaries including Bawa Rock; full public disclosure by GoldBod and BoG of pricing formulas, fee structures, and foreign exchange arrangements; emergency environmental measures including suspending mining in forest reserves and enforcing mine level traceability; and accountability requiring the BoG Governor and GoldBod CEO to appear before Parliament with prosecutions to follow where wrongdoing is established.
Minority Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, criticized Gyamfi’s response as unfortunate, saying if a CEO presides over significant losses, the response should not focus on comparative losses under previous administrations but rather address the scale of the issue. Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on December 29, Oppong Nkrumah said he was surprised to see a CEO respond on social media claiming he has losses but NPP also made certain losses.
Gyamfi emphasized in his statement that G4R is designed to generate foreign exchange and strengthen Ghana’s reserves, not to operate as a profit making venture. He argued the programme should be judged by its broader economic impact rather than profit and loss figures alone. If profit is the ultimate goal of G4R, why was BoG under NPP buying gold at spot prices between 2023 and 2024 as government policy, Gyamfi questioned.
The GoldBod chief executive also highlighted that in 2025, BoG purchased 102 tonnes of artisanal small scale mining gold worth more than 10 billion dollars at a time when gold prices had risen above 2,600 dollars per ounce. He characterized NPP complaints about 3.3 billion cedis in unaudited and unverified losses as hypocritical given they purchased far less gold at lower prices yet incurred larger losses.
The IMF disclosed in its fifth review report released December 17 that operational costs from GoldBod alongside trading shortfalls drove losses under G4R to 214 million dollars within the first nine months of 2025. The Fund characterized this development as a potential threat to economic stability. In 2025 through end Q3, losses from the artisanal and small scale gold transactions component of G4R have reached 214 million dollars, mostly on trading losses but also on GoldBod off takers’ fees, according to IMF documentation.
However, GoldBod has rejected these findings, clarifying that the board does not charge off taker fees and that its mandate is limited to purchasing, assaying, and exporting gold on behalf of the central bank. Gyamfi emphasized that all gold trading and sales decisions remain the sole responsibility of BoG, with GoldBod functioning purely as a procurement and logistics intermediary.
Policy analyst Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw has defended losses reported under gold backed programmes, arguing that economic policy must be judged by macroeconomic outcomes rather than isolated financial figures. He characterized criticism of GoldBod as politically motivated attacks rather than substantive institutional assessment. Dr. Manteaw stated that benefits from GoldBod activities currently outweigh operational losses.
Economist Dr. Theo Acheampong’s recent econometric analysis using nearly three years of official BoG data demonstrated that reserve accumulation follows programmatic decisions rather than reactive price driven strategies. His research showed that while gold prices and Ghana’s reserves show strong correlation over time, when examining month to month movements, correlation becomes negative, confirming that purchases follow policy rather than prices.
The coming days leading to Gyamfi’s January 5 exposé will test whether his detailed response can address opposition concerns or whether the debate intensifies further. The GoldBod chief executive has promised to provide comprehensive clarification on IMF figures, the programme’s overall performance, and the role of intermediaries including Bawa Rock Limited.
As Parliament prepares to reconvene in the new year, the question of whether a bipartisan investigative committee will be established remains unresolved. The Minority has maintained that without transparency and competitive processes, the gold aggregation scheme risks undermining public trust while potentially worsening environmental destruction linked to mining activities.
Gyamfi concluded his December 29 statement with a political jab at the opposition, urging the public to stay tuned for further disclosures beginning January 5. The escalating rhetoric between GoldBod management and parliamentary opposition suggests that the controversy over Ghana’s gold purchase programmes will remain a dominant political and economic issue throughout early 2026.