The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, has addressed the significant financial toll of the nation’s gold-backed recovery strategies.

Delivering remarks at the opening ceremony of the University of Ghana’s 77th Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) today, January 6, 2026, Dr. Asiama defended the controversial Gold-for-Reserves (G4R) and Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) while acknowledging that the central bank has carried the heavy cost of these strategic national priorities.

The Governor’s address focused on the evolution of GoldBod—the newly established Ghana Gold Board—and the DGPP, which was launched during a period he described as "acute vulnerability".

While the programmes succeeded in stabilising the Cedi and rebuilding foreign exchange buffers, the Governor was clear: this stability was not free.

“It is also important to be candid: this stability came at a cost. Since the setup of the DGPP, the Bank of Ghana has had to carry the financial burden of a national strategic policy, one that sought to restore confidence and protect the wider economy,” Dr. Asiama stated.

He emphasised that the decision for the BoG to absorb these costs was a "deliberate choice" taken in the national interest to prevent a total collapse of confidence during the transition.

Looking toward 2026, Dr. Asiama outlined a transition plan designed to move the financial burden away from the central bank. Throughout 2025, several structural shifts were implemented to make the programme more sustainable:

• Policy Cancellations: The Gold-for-Oil (G4O) initiative was officially cancelled to streamline operations.
• Pricing Reform: Pricing structures were overhauled by reducing discounts, agent fees, and assay charges.
• Risk Mitigation: The introduction of "payment-before-release" requirements has significantly reduced settlement risks.
• Gold FX Auction: A new mechanism was launched to ensure gold-related foreign exchange flows are intermediated with greater transparency.

The Governor signalled that the lone wolf era of the BoG funding national gold priorities is ending. In 2026, the G4R programme will be anchored within a broader government framework, involving the Ministry of Finance and GoldBod more directly.

“Responsibility will be shared in such a way that sustainability does not rest on any single institution,” the Governor told the gathering of academics and policymakers.

The 77th Annual New Year School, themed “Building the Ghana We Want Together for Sustainable Development,” serves as the backdrop for these major policy revelations.

Dr. Asiama concluded by inviting experts to a focused policy workshop to further refine the DGPP in line with international best practices.

“If the past year was about restoring confidence, then the year ahead must be about putting that confidence to work, carefully, productively, and with judgement,” Dr. Asiama remarked.

His comments come amid public debate over reports that GoldBod, the state-linked gold trading entity, incurred losses amounting to US$214 million — claims that have been strongly denied by the government.

Meanwhile, critics such as Bright Simons, an Honorary Vice President of IMANI Africa, have pushed back against attempts to downplay the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) assessment of Ghana’s reported US$214 million losses linked to gold trading, insisting that the Fund has both the mandate and the right to describe the issue as “trading losses”.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, January 3, Mr Simons explained that the IMF’s conclusions stem from its surveillance role under Article IV consultations, which apply to all member countries, not only those on active IMF programmes.

“The IMF insists that we should call it trading losses. We did not use that term arbitrarily,” Simons said, stressing that IMF reviews are grounded in treaty obligations Ghana voluntarily signed up to as a member of the Bretton Woods institution.

According to him, the IMF has the right to assess how countries manage their economies and to publish its findings, provided the engagement with authorities is reasonable.

He rejected suggestions that the issue could be reduced to a mere administrative or accounting problem. “You cannot all of a sudden convert a trading loss into something that’s a purely administrative matter. A trading loss means it’s a commercial loss,” Mr Simons argued, adding that the IMF’s conclusions were based on careful examination of data and extensive engagement with Ghanaian authorities.

However, government officials have dismissed claims of losses at GoldBod.

Appearing on Newsfile the same day, Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi described reports of a US$214 million loss as “false and misleading”.

“Emphatically, no. GoldBod, even though it is not a profit-making public institution, has not made any losses,” Sammy Gyamfi stated.

He disclosed that GoldBod generated more than GH₵960 million in revenue in 2025, while its total expenditure stood at less than GH₵120 million, based on unaudited management accounts.

“From all indications, we are on course to declaring an income surplus,” he added.