In the past six months, Ghana’s gold sector has once again taken center stage, not only for its staggering numbers but also for the political spin wrapped around them. According to the Bank of Ghana’s July 2025 Summary of Economic and Financial Data, the country exported $8.39 billion worth of gold between January and June. That figure is official, clear, and unambiguous.

Yet, in a recent statement, the President told Ghanaians that “in six months, we exported just over $6 billion in gold,” while adding that “about $4 billion of that would have gone into the hands of private or foreign traders.” The problem? Neither arithmetic nor the evidence matches the data.

First, the President understated Ghana’s official gold exports by nearly $2.4 billion, a staggering 28 percent gap. Was this a mistake, a slip of the tongue, or deliberate political downplaying? Second, the claim that $4 billion was lost to foreign traders cannot be verified. Why? Because the Bank of Ghana does not disaggregate export data between Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) and large-scale mining (LSM), nor does it track who ultimately captures the proceeds. In plain terms: there is no official record that could identify a $4 billion foreign trader loss.

This leaves Ghanaians with uncomfortable questions. How did the President calculate this alleged $4 billion loss if the data is unitemized? Was it an estimate, a guess, or political storytelling designed to justify the creation of the Gold Board? And if so, are we making national economic policy based on evidence or on narrative?

The gold sector is too important to be wrapped in vague figures. It is Ghana’s leading export earner, contributing directly to foreign exchange reserves and fiscal stability. But it is also the center of controversy, with artisanal mining linked to smuggling, environmental destruction, and elite capture of rents. If policymakers are misreporting or exaggerating numbers, then accountability becomes impossible, and citizens are left in the dark about who truly benefits.

At stake is more than just accuracy. If $8.4 billion can be reported as $6 billion, and if unverifiable $4 billion “losses” can be pinned on foreigners without data, then this is not transparency. It is political calculus. A new Ghana calculator that seems designed less for truth than for spin.

In economics, numbers matter. In governance, honesty matters even more. Ghanaians deserve facts, not fiscal fables.

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The Author, Prof. Isaac Boadi is the Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance, UPSA, and Executive Director, Institute of Economic and Research Policy