Economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin says the losses associated with Ghana’s domestic gold purchase programme are too significant to sustain, despite the GoldBod’s success in bringing more gold-related foreign exchange into the country.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Prof. Bokpin said GoldBod had helped reduce gold smuggling and improve the country’s access to foreign exchange.

“You can see that the gap has narrowed significantly with the introduction of Gold Board. And I think that is a credit to Gold Board.”

He said the intervention had helped bring into Ghana foreign exchange that would previously have been lost to smuggling.

“We can see the impact of Gold Board activities in terms of crowding in FX, foreign exchange that previously had been smuggled and didn’t ultimately end up in this country.”

However, Prof. Bokpin said the gains must be weighed against the substantial losses incurred through the domestic gold purchase arrangement.

“That said, this whole domestic gold purchase arrangement for which Gold Board essentially became the face of it from 2025 has also come at a significant loss to us, has come at a significant loss.”

He attributed the losses partly to weaknesses in the programme's design. “They were design defects of the program. Let me put it that way.”

Prof. Bokpin argued that better planning and expert input could have reduced losses while preserving the intervention's benefits.

“I am sure that we could have minimised these losses and vis-à-vis the benefit that we are getting.”

He also cautioned against attributing broader macroeconomic stability gains to GoldBod, arguing that such responsibility rests primarily with fiscal and monetary authorities.

“Macroeconomic stability comes from essentially fiscal and monetary policy, which is the Bank of Ghana and all of that.”

Prof. Bokpin said the overall cost of the programme exceeds the losses recorded in the Bank of Ghana's books.

He pointed to the abolition of the 1.5% withholding tax on gold from artisanal and small-scale miners as another fiscal cost.

“So, if you look at the total gold exports from artisanal small-scale miners, which are more than $10 billion, is that okay? And you want to do the analysis in terms of the fiscal losses, which could have gone to our revenue envelope, probably to fund roads, schools, and infrastructure, we have to give up that one also.”

He said this means the full cost of the intervention should be assessed across the entire gold value chain.

“If you look at it and adopt a value chain approach entirely, you see that the losses actually go beyond the 22 billion that we see.”

Prof. Bokpin nonetheless acknowledged that the programme had delivered substantial benefits, particularly in strengthening the country’s foreign exchange position.

“I recognise the impact of Gold Board, and I celebrate the progress that they have made in terms of crowding in gold-related FX.”

But he said the government itself now recognises that the losses cannot continue at their current level.

“Government itself, together with the Gold Board and the Bank of Ghana, recognize that these losses are not sustainable going forward.”

He said an exit plan is therefore being pursued to sharply reduce the losses.

“The government intends, through the Gold Board arrangement, to reduce these losses from about 17% or 14.5% to about 5% going forward.”