A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Economics, Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, has called for the cost associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) to 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 indicated that the DGPP, 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 in an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, August 19, Dr Sarkodie said the reported losses should not be attributed solely to either institution, given the financing and operational arrangements underpinning the programme.
He explained that although the Bank of Ghana finances the programme, GoldBod is responsible for purchasing and aggregating the gold, while the central bank subsequently handles 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 said if GoldBod were operating independently and financing the programme itself, losses arising from its own transactions would instead be reflected in its accounts.
He said some losses could be linked directly to GoldBod’s gold purchases, while other losses could arise from foreign exchange rate differentials when the Bank of Ghana conducts subsequent transactions.
“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.
Dr Sarkodie therefore proposed that the two institutions share the cost associated with the programme, particularly under the current arrangement in which the Bank of Ghana provides financing for GoldBod’s operations.
He also cautioned against interpreting the reported figure as a conventional commercial loss, explaining that the IMF described the amount as a revaluation loss.
He said the classification reflected changes in the valuation of gold and foreign exchange transactions rather than simply representing cash that had been spent and lost.
“It’s a revaluation term,” he said. “I think the two should share the cost,” he said.
