By Adnan Adams Mohammed
The immediate past Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has questioned the sincerity of the Bank of Ghana’s data provided to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), particularly regarding a reported GH¢3.8 billion loss in 2024 under the Gold for Reserves programme.
Dr. Adam highlighted the absence of documentation for this loss at a parliamentary hearing and its non-inclusion in the bank’s published financial statements or reports to the IMF, raising concerns about potential misreporting.
As tensions rise, Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Johnson Asiama, has called for a review of the programme, urging the Finance Ministry to consider alternative financing structures to ease the central bank’s financial burden. The programme’s sustainability hangs in the balance as stakeholders demand accountability and transparency.
The IMF has insisted it stands by its assessment of a US$214 million loss through the Bank of Ghana’s Gold for Reserves programme by September 2025, clarifying that its report aimed to highlight operational and financial risks rather than classify the program as loss-making.
The Bank of Ghana however, describes the IMF’s assessment as speculative, since it is citing unaudited figures.
The IMF’s Country Representative for Ghana, Dr Adrian Alter, disclosed this during a conversation on PM Express Business Edition, last week.
Dr Alter explained that the assessment contained in the staff report was not intended to classify the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme as a loss-making operation, but rather to highlight the operational and financial risks, particularly in relation to Goldbod dealings.
The country representative noted that “we understand that the numbers are still being audited as we speak, and there is the likelihood that numbers could go down marginally or go up.”
Dr Alter acknowledged that the Bank of Ghana had described the IMF’s assessment as speculative because audited figures are still being prepared.
He stressed that the Fund stands by its assessment, which was meant to highlight expected challenges and not to cast doubt on the programme.
Apparently, the Bank of Ghana, in a statement issued on December 25, 2025, maintained that figures reported in relation to losses from gold operations in 2025 should be described as speculative.
The Bank argued that since its audited financial statements for its 2025 performance, including all relevant disclosures, will be published in 2026 in accordance with statutory requirements, it would not be right to give credence to these reports.
The Bank of Ghana further noted that although the IMF review flagged financial risks associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, these concerns should be viewed within the broader context of the programme’s significant macroeconomic contribution.
It stated that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme has helped to boost Ghana’s international reserves, support currency stability, and enable access to large volumes of foreign exchange without incurring new debt.
“The operational role of GOLDBOD as an aggregator has been important in channelling gold-based inflows from the small-scale mining sector into the official market,” the document from the Bank of Ghana stated.
Consequently, Dr Asiama, has called for a review of the Gold-for-Reserves programme, urging the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, to consider a more sustainable financing structure for the Ghana Gold Board’s (GoldBod) trading operations.
He said such a rethink is necessary to ease the financial burden currently borne by the central bank.
Dr Asiama made the appeal while responding to questions at a sitting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, where concerns were raised about losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana in supporting GoldBod’s gold purchasing activities.
He explained that the programme plays a key role in building Ghana’s foreign reserves and therefore requires stronger backing from the Ministry of Finance.
“It’s not a question of shutting it down, but enhancing its efficiency by looking at the inefficiencies and taking them out,” he said.
According to the BoG Governor, a critical issue is whether the costs associated with the programme should continue to be absorbed by the central bank.
“The best thing now, in the national interest, is to look again at the trading model and decide whether the Ministry of Finance should make a budgetary allocation to take care of the costs, given that this is supporting our reserves build-up,” Dr Asiama stated.
He added that these are policy questions that require consensus at the national level.
Dr Asiama noted that the Bank of Ghana has already taken steps to address some inefficiencies within the programme and stressed the need for a coordinated approach to ensure its long-term success.
“In the case of the Gold-for-Reserves, as the name suggests, the objective was to help us build reserves, and the evidence is clear,” he said, pointing to improvements made so far.
“Going forward, let’s look at the aspects we can fix in the interest of the country. It calls for a unified approach.”
The BoG has come under intense scrutiny following revelations by the International Monetary Fund in its fifth review of Ghana’s ongoing IMF programme that losses from artisanal and small-scale gold transactions under the scheme had reached US$214 million by the end of September 2025.
While GoldBod itself has reportedly recorded profits, the IMF noted that the central bank absorbed most of the losses arising from the programme.
