The Executive Director of the Centre for Extractives and Development Africa (CEDA), Samuel Bekoe, says Ghana has benefited significantly from the operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), despite reports of losses under its trading programme.
He says a cost-benefit analysis of GoldBod’s model shows the country is better off, with the macro benefit being used to stabilise the cedi.
Speaking on Onua TV’s morning show, Maakye, on Thursday, August 27, 2026, Mr Bekoe said before the creation of GoldBod, licensed buyers were bringing in their own cash to purchase gold, while mining activities destroyed rivers and lands without commensurate benefit to the state.
According to him, GoldBod’s introduction was to ensure Ghana benefits from foreign exchange earnings by channelling every dollar meant for gold purchase through the system, while pushing for value addition through in-country refining before export.
“If you do cost benefit analysis, it has really benefited us because I’m also a businessman. The benefit at large –macro level is what we are using to stabilising our currency,” he stated in Twi.
His comments come on the back of the controversy surrounding GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
An International Monetary Fund Country Report issued in August 2026 put losses under the programme at over 1.7 billion dollars in 2025, about 22 billion cedis, with three banking executives telling Reuters the Bank of Ghana viewed GoldBod’s auction programme as inconsistent with its operating framework.
The Bank of Ghana has since ended its pre-financing arrangement for GoldBod effective July 1, 2026, a move Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama said removes one source of liquidity injection at a time inflation is edging up.
GoldBod, which says it raised nearly 839 million dollars in advances for purchases between March and May 2026, has dismissed claims of a 22 billion cedis loss, saying it recorded a 907 million cedis operational surplus in 2025.
GoldBod posted GH¢5.4bn surplus in 2025, not $1.7bn loss – Sammy Gyamfi
