By Adnan Adams Mohammed
Accra, Ghana – The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has clarified that it has not appointed Bawa-Rock Company Limited as the sole aggregator for artisanal gold purchases, contrary to allegations made by Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
Prince Kwame Minkah, GoldBod’s Media Relations Officer corrected the false claim by Oppong Nkrumah in an interview that the Board is licensing multiple Ghanaian-owned companies and individuals as aggregators, contradicting claims of a monopoly.
“The GoldBod itself does not have a single ‘sole aggregator’ in the private sector. Instead, it licenses multiple Ghanaian-owned companies and individuals to operate as aggregators,” Minkah explained.
Minkah added that Bawa-Rock is the first licensed aggregator, with more to follow, and was incorporated on January 14, 2025. He cited the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) to refute allegations that Bawa-Rock was inexperienced and lacked transparency.
The controversy arose after the IMF reported $214 million losses under the gold-for-reserves scheme, prompting the Minority to question GoldBod’s licensing process. Oppong Nkrumah had alleged that Bawa-Rock was inexperienced and lacked transparency, but Minkah dismissed these claims.
Meanwhile, Sammy Gyamfi, NDC Communications Officer and CEO of Ghana Gold Board, has slammed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for “uninformed and unfounded” claims of a $214 million loss under the Gold for Reserves (G4R) program.
Gyamfi revealed audited losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana from artisanal small-scale gold purchases under the G4R and Gold for Oil (G4O) programs. The figures show losses of GHS2.15 billion in 2023 and GHS4.84 billion in 2024. For 2025, unaudited losses stand at approximately GHS2.3 billion ($214 million) from January to September, according to the IMF.
Gyamfi contrasted this with the NPP’s claim of $300 million in losses for 2025, questioning their call for a probe. He pointed out that under the NPP’s administration, the Bank of Ghana made cumulative losses of GHS7 billion under the G4O and G4R programs, coinciding with Ghana’s cedi depreciation of 27.8% in 2023 and 19.2% in 2022, and inflation rates of 22.3% and 23.8% respectively.
“In 2025, inflation has declined for 11 consecutive months from 23.8% to 6.3%, while the Ghana cedi has cumulatively appreciated by over 35% against the U.S. dollar,” Gyamfi noted.
Gyamfi will address the issue further from January 5, 2026. “We welcome that probe. Stay tuned for more,” he said.
