Sammy Gyamfi, GoldBod CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, Esq., has dismissed claims that the institution has recorded losses, following public debate triggered by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) country report on Ghana’s Gold-for-Reserves programme.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points programme on Saturday, December 27, 2025, Mr. Gyamfi clarified that the IMF’s reported figure of US$214 million in losses relates to accounting assessments of the Bank of Ghana’s Gold-for-Reserves programme, not to the financial performance of GoldBod.
He stressed that at no point did the IMF state that the Ghana Gold Board itself had incurred losses.
“GoldBod has not made losses. We have made surpluses, and our financials have been published in accordance with the law,” Mr. Gyamfi said, adding that the institution’s quarterly financial statements are publicly available on GoldBod’s website.
He explained that GoldBod, established under the Ghana Gold Board Act, is not a conventional commercial entity driven by profit. Rather, it is a mandate-driven strategic institution tasked with generating foreign exchange and supporting the Bank of Ghana’s gold reserve accumulation. This distinction, he said, is reflected in the law, which uses the term “surplus” rather than “profit.”
“If GoldBod were to make losses in the discharge of its mandate, we would not shy away from it. We would account for it transparently and explain the benefits, if any. But the facts are clear—GoldBod has not made losses,” he stated.
Mr. Gyamfi further explained that GoldBod, which is barely eight months old, inherited the assets, liabilities and contractual obligations of the defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited (PMMC) under Section 76 of its establishing Act. These include arrangements with the Bank of Ghana under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, launched in 2022.
Addressing the IMF’s assessment of losses under the Gold-for-Reserves programme, the CEO said the issue relates to unresolved accounting and financial reporting treatments currently being discussed by the Bank of Ghana, the IMF and external auditors.
He disclosed that the IMF has agreed to allow external auditors to resolve the matter, acknowledging that different accounting treatments could significantly affect the reported profit or loss figures.
“The Bank of Ghana is not running away from losses,” Mr. Gyamfi said, noting that the central bank has publicly recorded substantial losses in recent years without controversy.
“If the IMF’s figure of US$214 million is eventually confirmed, it would represent a reduction in the recurring losses the Bank of Ghana has historically recorded,” he added.
He also rejected claims that the reported losses point to poor pricing or inefficiency, stressing that the Gold-for-Reserves programme was never designed to generate profit.
“When the programme was introduced in 2022, the Bank of Ghana deliberately priced gold purchases at or near spot prices to compete with smugglers and secure foreign exchange, even though this came with intrinsic costs,” he said.
“Nobody buys gold at spot price to make profit. The objective was macroeconomic stability, not margins,” Mr. Gyamfi added.
He cautioned that pricing gold at deep discounts to achieve profitability would make Ghana uncompetitive, push gold into smuggling networks, reduce forex inflows, weaken the cedi, and worsen inflation and the cost of living.
Highlighting the broader macroeconomic impact of the programme, Mr. Gyamfi cited currency appreciation, sustained declines in inflation, reduced food prices, and significant savings on external debt servicing and imports as benefits that outweigh the reported costs.
He added that the IMF has not called for the programme to be scrapped, but rather for its costs to be properly reflected in Ghana’s public accounts.
“Whether the cost sits in the books of the Bank of Ghana, GoldBod, or the Ministry of Finance, it is still the cost of Ghana,” he reiterated.
