Presidential aide Dr Sammy Ayeh has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being mischievous in its interpretation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) findings on losses associated with Ghana’s domestic gold purchasing programme.

According to Dr Ayeh, “the NPP is being mischievous with the IMF findings” by presenting the report in a way that suggests the losses were solely caused by GoldBod.

Speaking on JoyNews' AM Show on Wednesday, August 19, he argued that “the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was launched in 2021”, before the current NDC government came into office.

He said that when the programme was introduced, questions were raised about the discounts involved, the off-takers who received the gold, and the pricing indices used to determine the value of the transactions.

Dr Ayeh stressed that “before GoldBod came, the Bank of Ghana was already engaged in a domestic gold purchase programme using PMMC as a buyer.”

He therefore questioned why losses recorded during that period were not attributed to PMMC, while similar losses under the expanded programme are now being blamed entirely on GoldBod.

Referring to the IMF report, Dr Ayeh said, “If they had taken time to read the document, they would not make the case they are making.”

He pointed out that the IMF report indicates that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, announced in 2021 and largely phased out by the end of June 2026, played a significant role in Ghana’s gold exports.

According to Dr Ayeh, the programme was instrumental in exporting approximately $10.9 billion worth of artisanal gold in 2025 alone. While the IMF acknowledged that the rapid expansion of the programme contributed to economic stability, it also identified significant losses.

Dr Ayeh also referred to information obtained from the Bank of Ghana through an RTI request, which he said showed that the Bank recorded losses of GH¢5.6 billion in 2024.

He questioned the attempt to link all those losses to GoldBod, asking, “If PMMC, which was doing the same job GoldBod is doing now, was not responsible for the losses in 2024, why should GoldBod be responsible for the losses in 2025?”

Dr Ayeh further highlighted the IMF’s finding that the discrepancy between gold exports reported by Ghana and gold imports reported by the United Arab Emirates exceeded $4 billion.

On the 2024 losses, he said the IMF report put the figure at about $400 million, with approximately one-third related to the Gold-for-Oil programme.

He stressed that “Gold-for-Oil was under the NPP”, arguing that those losses cannot now be presented as if they originated solely from GoldBod.

For 2025, Dr Ayeh said the IMF report estimated losses of approximately $1.7 billion following the significant scaling-up of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

He maintained that “the IMF report does not support the simplistic argument that GoldBod alone is responsible for the losses.”

Dr Ayeh concluded that the issue must be considered within the broader history of Ghana’s domestic gold purchasing programme, including the Bank of Ghana’s role, PMMC’s involvement, the Gold-for-Oil programme and the eventual establishment of GoldBod.

He accused the NPP of selectively interpreting the IMF report and urged the public to examine the full findings rather than relying on what he described as a politically motivated presentation of the figures.