Economist and Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana, Godfred Alufar Bokpin, has cautioned against giving the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) credit for Ghana’s recent macroeconomic stability.
According to him, while GoldBod has played an important role in bringing gold-related foreign exchange into the formal economy, Ghana’s broader economic stability is largely the result of fiscal and monetary policy.
Prof. Bokpin said GoldBod deserves recognition for helping reduce gold smuggling and increasing the amount of foreign exchange retained within the country.
“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.
He explained that both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) identified challenges surrounding illegal mining, gold production and the reporting of gold exports ahead of the 2024 elections.
The NPP proposed reducing the final withholding tax on gold exports from artisanal and small-scale mining to encourage miners to declare their gold.
The NDC, he said, chose instead to establish GoldBod as the main entity responsible for buying and exporting gold, particularly from artisanal and small-scale miners.
Prof. Bokpin said the GoldBod arrangement has helped bring into Ghana foreign exchange that could previously have been lost through gold smuggling.
However, he stressed that the policy has also resulted in significant financial losses, which must be considered when assessing GoldBod’s overall impact on the economy.
“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 said.
