Ghana's GoldBod Under Fire: Experts Debate Costly Operations and Economic Impact
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) faces scrutiny over its financial losses, with experts debating their necessity against the backdrop of increased foreign exchange retention and reduced gold smuggling. While Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw views the losses as crucial transaction costs for market penetration and broader economic stability, Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin highlights the unsustainability of these costs, pointing to design flaws and wider fiscal implications, including foregone tax revenues. The government, GoldBod, and the Bank of Ghana are now pursuing an exit plan to reduce these significant financial outflows.
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has become the subject of intense debate regarding its financial performance, with stakeholders divided over how to assess the losses incurred through its domestic gold purchase programme. While policy analyst Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw defends these losses as necessary transaction costs for market penetration and wider economic benefits, economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin acknowledges GoldBod's successes but emphasizes the unsustainability and broader fiscal implications of the substantial financial outflows.
Dr. Manteaw, Co-Chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), argues that the financial losses recorded by GoldBod are not an unprecedented phenomenon, noting that Ghana has incurred losses from gold purchase programmes in previous years, specifically in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. He contends that these losses should be viewed as transaction costs essential for GoldBod's mission to take control of the country’s gold market. For instance, in 2024, Ghana recorded a combined loss of ¢5.7 billion from the Gold for Oil programme ($1.8 billion) and domestic gold purchases for reserves ($3.8 billion), yet its gold export revenue for that year was only $4 billion. Dr. Manteaw posits that incurring a loss of $1.7 billion to bring in $10 billion in foreign exchange should not be automatically deemed a failure, as the economy-wide impact, including foreign exchange stability, lower import costs, reduced inflation, and lower interest rates, outweighs the programme's costs. He highlights that such stability enables businesses to plan better, reduces import expenses, and creates opportunities for investment in machinery, supporting the government’s 24-hour economy.
Dr. Manteaw further explains that GoldBod's operational context necessitated these initial losses. GoldBod had to penetrate a market where foreign buyers—Indians, Chinese, and Turks—had already established relationships with Ghanaian miners, often providing financing and equipment in exchange for gold. To win over these miners, GoldBod had to offer better prices, often buying at market rates, including using the higher forex bureau rate, while foreign buyers secured gold at a discount. This competitive strategy created an “uncovered cost” in transactions, which Dr. Manteaw insists was a necessary expense to integrate Ghanaian miners into the new system and regulate gold trade effectively.
Conversely, Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, an economist, while recognizing GoldBod's significant achievements, cautions against overlooking the substantial financial costs. He credits GoldBod for playing an important role in formalizing gold-related foreign exchange, significantly reducing gold smuggling, and increasing the amount of foreign exchange retained in Ghana. He points to the narrowed gap between Ghana’s gold export figures and those reported by importing countries as a clear indicator of GoldBod’s success in this regard. Both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had identified issues with illegal mining and gold export reporting prior to the 2024 elections, with the NDC establishing GoldBod to function similarly to COCOBOD in buying and exporting gold from artisanal and small-scale miners.
However, Professor Bokpin argues that the domestic gold purchase arrangement, for which GoldBod became the face from 2025, has come at a significant, unsustainable loss to the country. He attributes these losses partly to