The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) recorded a GH¢3.78 billion net difference between the value of gold expected to be supplied to the Bank of Ghana and the actual position at the end of 2025, according to a detailed trade report released by the institution.
The figure, captured as amounts payable to the central bank, forms the bulk of GoldBod’s total trade payables of GH¢3.88 billion at the end of the financial year, according to its audited financial statements.
The financial statements state: “Current liabilities included trade payables of GH¢3,883,803,022, of which GH¢3,780,727,736 relates to amounts payable to the Bank of Ghana under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.”
A Tale of Many Transactions
The GH¢3.78 billion figure does not represent a single transaction. Rather, it is the net result of numerous transactions throughout 2025 in which the value of gold supplied sometimes exceeded the amount expected, while in other cases it fell below the expected amount or no gold was recorded as supplied.
GoldBod received total inflows of GH¢133.26 billion during the period. Of that amount, GH¢132.29 billion was the expected value of gold to be supplied to the central bank. Actual gold supplied was valued at GH¢128.55 billion, equivalent to 80,762.55 kilogrammes.
On June 26, 2025, GoldBod supplied gold worth GH¢5.28 billion against an expected GH¢1.63 billion, recording an over-supply of approximately GH¢3.64 billion. The gold supplied weighed 3,579.36 kilogrammes. On August 1, gold valued at GH¢4.13 billion was supplied against an expected GH¢2.73 billion, producing an over-supply of about GH¢1.38 billion. On October 24, gold worth GH¢3.84 billion was supplied against an expected GH¢1.59 billion, an over-supply of approximately GH¢2.23 billion.
But there were major under-supplies too. On August 22, GoldBod supplied gold worth about GH¢569.40 million against an expected GH¢2.02 billion, leaving an under-supply of approximately GH¢1.47 billion. On September 15, GH¢1.76 billion was supplied against an expected GH¢2.49 billion.
The report also records instances where funds came in but no gold supply was recorded. On April 24 and April 30, inflows of GH¢500 million each were recorded with no corresponding gold supply. On May 2, an inflow of GH¢917.96 million was recorded without a gold supply, while a May 5 inflow of GH¢466.68 million also had no gold supply recorded. On December 23, an expected supply of about GH¢1.14 billion had no corresponding gold delivery recorded.
Background: GoldBod and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme
GoldBod was established under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), passed by Parliament on March 28, 2025, as the sole exporter of gold from Ghana’s small-scale mining sector, effectively barring licensed traders and bullion dealers from exporting gold directly. The Board operates under the Ministry of Finance and is mandated to oversee, monitor, and undertake the buying, selling, and export of gold and other precious minerals.
The Board inherited the buying-agent arrangement previously performed by the Precious Minerals Marketing Company for the Bank of Ghana under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP). Under this arrangement, GoldBod purchased and aggregated gold with funding provided by the central bank, with the Bank of Ghana incurring the costs associated with gold aggregation.
The DGPP was announced in 2021 and was largely phased out by the end of June 2026. The programme was instrumental in exporting US8.9 billion to approximately US1.7 billion, about 1.5 per cent of GDP, in 2025.
GoldBod fully took over the operations and costs of the DGPP in July 2026, transitioning from a central-bank-funded buying agent to a self-funded aggregation model that raises financing directly from commercial banks and offtakers.
Strong Financial Performance Alongside Legacy Obligations
Despite the substantial payable to the Bank of Ghana, GoldBod reported strong financial results for 2025. The Board published audited financial statements showing total revenue of GH₵5.55 billion, an operational surplus of GH₵909.71 million, and an overall surplus of GH₵5.44 billion. The Government of Ghana provided seed capital of GH₵4.55 billion to support the Board’s gold purchasing, trading, and export operations.
GoldBod’s balance sheet reflected significant growth, with total assets reaching GH₵9.55 billion as of December 31, 2025, representing growth of 468 per cent over the fiscal year. Cash and cash equivalents rose sharply to GH₵8.77 billion from GH₵738.18 million in 2024.
The CEO of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, has consistently pointed to the Auditor-General’s report, which contained no adverse findings against the institution. He has urged the media and the public to rely on the audited financial statements when assessing the Board’s performance.
Record Gold Production and Sector Transformation
The 2025 financial year coincided with a historic surge in Ghana’s gold output. Ghana produced a record 5.94 million ounces of gold in 2025, up from 4.82 million ounces in 2024 — a 23.41 per cent increase. Small-scale mining alone produced 3.11 million ounces, representing 52.4 per cent of the country’s total gold output and marking the first time in over a century that small-scale mining overtook large-scale operations.
The surge in small-scale production was driven in part by GoldBod’s formalisation efforts, which have been credited with reducing gold smuggling and increasing formal purchases. GoldBod’s CEO has stated that the Board’s strategies have considerably reduced gold smuggling, attributing the success to the institution’s transformation from the Precious Minerals Marketing Company.
The DGPP’s contribution to Ghana’s external position has been significant. Gold now accounts for more than half of Ghana’s total exports, up from just a fifth in 2021, driven by sharp increases in gold prices, reduced smuggling, and higher production. This surge led to a drastic improvement in Ghana’s current account balance, rapid exchange rate appreciation, and improved debt sustainability.
Political Scrutiny and Oversight Concerns
The GH¢3.78 billion payable figure and the broader operations of GoldBod have become subjects of intense political debate. The Minority in Parliament has repeatedly called for a parliamentary inquiry into the operations of GoldBod and the reported losses under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, with Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin vowing to pursue a full-scale investigation.
The calls intensified following an August 2026 World Bank report that identified GoldBod-related operations as “a significant and insufficiently monitored risk” to Ghana’s economy. The World Bank also flagged delays in reforms to GoldBod’s operations as an ongoing risk. The IMF’s Selected Issues paper, published in August 2026, found that the gold programme incurred losses of more than US$1.7 billion in 2025 alone, about 1.5 per cent of GDP, pushing the Bank of Ghana into negative equity.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has announced his intention to admit a motion by the Minority Caucus to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate the operations of GoldBod and the reported GH¢22 billion loss under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. The Minority has filed multiple motions seeking to summon GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi to explain the transactions.
GoldBod has rejected claims of losses, insisting that its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, show an operational surplus of GH¢907 million and an overall surplus of more than GH¢5.4 billion. The Board has maintained that the DGPP losses reflect the policy cost of Ghana’s economic stabilisation, arguing that the programme’s expansion contributed significantly to the improvement in Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves and broader macroeconomic indicators.
What the Payable Means
The GH¢3.78 billion payable to the Bank of Ghana represents the net difference between the value of gold GoldBod was expected to supply to the central bank and the actual value of gold delivered, covering over-supplies, under-supplies, and undistributed funds across the 2025 financial year. It is an accounting position reflecting the net effect of numerous individual transactions rather than a single debt obligation.
As GoldBod transitions to a self-funded model and assumes full responsibility for the DGPP, the resolution of this payable — and the broader questions about the programme’s costs and benefits — will remain central to the national debate over Ghana’s gold sector policy. The Board has said it has raised more than US$450 million from commercial banks without Bank of Ghana funding as it moves toward operational independence.
About GoldBod
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is a statutory body established under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), to regulate, monitor, and undertake the buying, selling, and export of gold and other precious minerals. It is the sole exporter of gold from Ghana’s small-scale mining sector and operates under the Ministry of Finance.
Key Financial Metrics (FY 2025):
· Total revenue: GH₵5.55 billion
· Operational surplus: GH₵909.71 million
· Overall surplus: GH₵5.44 billion
· Total assets: GH₵9.55 billion
· Cash and cash equivalents: GH₵8.77 billion
· Trade payables to BoG under DGPP: GH₵3,780,727,736
· Gold supplied: 80,762.55 kilogrammes
· Government seed capital: GH₵4.55 billion
Key Developments:
· March 2025: Parliament passes Ghana Gold Board Act
· April 2025: GoldBod established; inherits PMMC’s buying-agent role for BoG
· July 2026: GoldBod fully takes over DGPP operations and costs
· August 2026: World Bank flags GoldBod operations as “insufficiently monitored risk”
· September 2026: Trade report reveals GH¢3.78bn net supply gap for 2025
