A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Economics, Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, has proposed that the financial cost associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) should be shared between the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

His comments follow an August 2026 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which stated that the programme, implemented through GoldBod, recorded losses of more than US$1.7 billion in 2025, equivalent to about 1.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Speaking to Channel One TV on Wednesday, August 19, Dr Sarkodie said the losses should not be assigned entirely to either institution because of the way the programme is financed and operated.

He explained that while the BoG provides the financing, GoldBod purchases and aggregates the gold, with the central bank subsequently undertaking transactions involving the gold and foreign exchange.

“…because it’s the BoG that is pre-financing it, it will by all means sit in the books of BoG. So they should share the cost, because some of the purchases are done directly by GoldBod,” he said.

Dr Sarkodie explained that losses arising directly from GoldBod’s purchases should be attributed to GoldBod, while losses resulting from foreign-exchange differentials in subsequent BoG transactions should be borne by the central bank.

“Some of the purchases are done directly by GoldBod. So, whatever the loss that has come from that angle is your loss. BoG then sells and, because of the exchange rate differentials, makes a loss, and that is BoG’s loss,” he said.

He further cautioned against treating the US$1.7 billion figure as a conventional commercial loss, noting that the IMF characterised it as a revaluation loss arising from changes in the value of gold and foreign exchange transactions.

“It’s a revaluation term,” he said, reiterating his view that “the two should share the cost.”