Gold Purchase Programme losses inevitable - Centre for Policy Scrutiny

The Centre for Policy Scrutiny (CPS) has thrown its weight behind calls for an independent investigation into reported GoldBOD losses of US$1.7 billion, equivalent to approximately GH¢22 billion, under Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).

The policy think tank says the reported losses constitute a matter of significant public interest and must be subjected to a comprehensive, transparent and evidence-based examination to establish exactly what happened, how the losses were incurred, and who bears responsibility.

In a statement, the CPS welcomed a fresh motion filed by the Minority in Parliament seeking an inquiry into the matter and specifically endorsed Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s call for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the reported losses by GoldBOD.

According to the Centre, the parliamentary inquiry must go beyond the reported figure and examine the transactions, institutions, and financing arrangements underpinning the DGPP.

It wants the investigation to establish the exact nature and source of the reported US$1.7 billion losses, identify the transactions that generated them, and determine the basis upon which the reported figures were arrived at.

The CPS further wants the respective roles of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and GoldBOD in the implementation of the programme to be thoroughly examined, including their responsibilities, financial exposures, and how the associated transactions were accounted for.

The Centre says the inquiry must also determine whether the DGPP has delivered value commensurate with the resources committed to it, particularly in view of its potential implications for Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves and public finances.

The CPS is calling for a bipartisan and transparent process anchored in documentary evidence.

It says the proposed committee should rely on audited accounts, transaction records, contracts, and other relevant documentation rather than political claims or competing narratives, in order to establish the facts.

“The investigation should remain transparent, evidence-based and bipartisan,” the Centre stressed.

The policy group believes the parliamentary process presents an opportunity to settle competing claims surrounding the reported losses while strengthening accountability in the management of Ghana’s gold and foreign exchange resources.

It is therefore urging Parliament to proceed with the investigation and ensure that its eventual findings provide clear answers to four critical questions: what happened, why it happened, who bears responsibility, and what measures are required to prevent a recurrence.

In what could prove to be one of the strongest aspects of its position, the CPS goes beyond calling for an investigation and raises concerns about the fundamental design of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

The Centre argues that the current design of the DGPP is “too generous,” making losses inevitable.

It consequently recommends a redesign of the programme to minimise costs and optimise its benefits, warning that the marginal benefits of the existing arrangement will not remain positive indefinitely.

The call comes amid heightened public and political scrutiny of Ghana’s gold purchasing arrangements and the financial implications of the DGPP.

For the CPS, however, the immediate priority is to establish the facts through a credible investigation and ensure that Ghana’s gold and foreign exchange resources are managed with greater accountability.

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