Ghana's gold purchase losses were 'engineered', not genuine - Economist alleges

The losses recorded under Ghana’s gold-purchasing programme appear to have been “engineered” rather than genuine, according to economic analyst Dr Frank Bannor.

His claim follows a review of a 45-page International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, which he says raises questions about the costs associated with the programme.

Dr Bannor pointed to paragraph 14 on page 10 of the report, which indicates that GoldBod significantly reduced assay fees, service fees and other transaction costs during the first quarter of 2026, according to a 3News report.

According to him, the reduction helped bring the reported loss down from about 14.5% to 11.4% in the first quarter.

“From the foregoing, the loss seems to be an ‘engineered one’, rather than a genuine one,” he argued.

He questioned why the costs were initially high if they could be reduced significantly within such a short period.

The economic analyst said the development raises questions about whether the earlier costs were unavoidable or whether the structure of the gold-purchasing arrangements contributed to the losses.

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He therefore called on GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to explain the basis for the earlier assay fees, service charges, and other transaction costs, as well as what led to their reduction.

According to him, greater transparency is needed to establish whether Ghana could have avoided a significant portion of the reported losses.

He also noted that the issue should not be reduced to partisan politics but should instead be examined carefully to ensure accountability in the management of the country’s gold resources.

DR/MA

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