The Minority New Patriotic Party caucus in Parliament has called on the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to publicly account for what it says is a GHS 22 billion loss recorded in just one year, describing it as “causing financial loss to the state.”
Addressing the press on Monday, Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin cited the International Monetary Fund’s 6th and Final Review of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility, completed July 10, 2026, and captured in IMF Country Report No. 26/213, as the basis for the allegation.
IMF report forms basis of claim
According to the Minority Leader, the IMF report found that the “significant scaling up” of the domestic gold purchasing program in 2025 led to losses of $1.7 billion USD, equivalent to GHS 22 billion or 1.5% of GDP.
“It amounted to a loss of 17% of the value of the gold sold by Bank of Ghana on whose behalf GoldBod operates,” Afenyo-Markin said, quoting Paragraph 13, page 10 of the IMF’s Selected Issues paper dated August 2026.
“It is not me saying it. It is not Mama Pats. It is not the men standing behind me. It is the IMF. And government has accepted, conceded that indeed these were huge losses,” he added.
‘Alter ego’ accounting and audit gaps
The Minority accused GoldBod of using Bank of Ghana as its “alter ego” carrying losses on BoG’s books while retaining fees and credit for revenue.
“GoldBod took Bank of Ghana’s money to assay gold and collect its fees. It cannot claim the credit that comes with revenue while pushing every loss into Bank of Ghana’s balance sheets,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
He further alleged that the Auditor General was not given the full picture.
“If the Auditor General knew that the costs of GoldBod transactions were borne by Bank of Ghana, he would not have declared a surplus in its report,” he said.
The Minority Leader said this arrangement amounted to “causing financial loss to the state” and that those responsible “must account.”
BoG stops funding, fees cut after pressure
The caucus said actions taken by authorities in recent months confirm the seriousness of the problem.
According to Afenyo-Markin, Bank of Ghana has resolved to stop financing GoldBod’s gold purchasing operations, and GoldBod itself announced on August 11, 2026 that it had ended its role as buying agent for BoG. Since March 2026, he said, GoldBod has ceased receiving BoG funds for gold purchases and is now seeking financing from commercial banks and offtakers.
The Minority also took credit for forcing fee reductions.
“When fees were 15% and we raised the first red flag, there was an emergency joint board meeting and they cut it to 9%. When we escalated it with a motion on the floor, they cut it further to 5%. If 15% was legitimate, why didn’t it remain?” he asked.
Impact and demands
Afenyo-Markin said the $1.7 billion loss had direct human costs: “It is hospitals that will not be built. It is maternal deaths that will not be prevented. It is schools not built. It is roads not constructed. It is water treatment facilities not built while our people’s water is poisoned by galamsey.”
The Minority posed three direct questions to GoldBod:
1. Who are the offtakers to whom discounted gold was sold?
2. Why were sales discounted?
3. Why is a mandate to trade gold on behalf of the country producing losses not disclosed to Ghanaians?
“If the IMF is wrong, why are remedial measures being taken? Why are they moving away from the original model?”. Afenyo-Markin asked.
He warned that “post-regime accountability awaits them. We will say this firmly and boldly.”
The Minority indicated it will pursue the matter further in Parliament through a motion.
By: Christian Kpesese
