A detailed assessment of the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) handling of a portion of the country’s gold reserves in late 2025 has ignited intense national debate, as analysts at African Policy Lens (APL) question the Central Bank’s timing, strategy, and justifications for the large‑scale divestment.
The concerns stem from newly examined data showing that Ghana’s gold reserves fell sharply from 38.04 tonnes in October 2025 to 18.6 tonnes by December 2025, representing an estimated 19.4‑tonne divestment within a span of just a few weeks. The development came on the heels of a reported US$214 million loss under the Bank’s Gold4Reserves operations earlier that year.
The divestment occurred at a time when global signals pointed to unprecedented bullishness in the gold market. A series of projections from institutions including the World Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, and Deutsche Bank predicted historic price surges into 2026. Gold had already recorded 53 all‑time highs in 2025, its strongest performance since 1979. The World Gold Council (WGC) reported a full‑year gain of 67%, driven heavily by investment and central‑bank demand.
The analysts argue, during a press conference, that these were not circumstances under which a central bank should offload significant quantities of gold. Many countries—including China, Poland, Tanzania, Mongolia, and Egypt—were aggressively increasing their reserves throughout the year. By early 2026, gold had reportedly overtaken U.S. Treasuries as the most valuable reserve asset held by central banks worldwide.
Yet the BoG justified its decision by saying the move was a “conversion of gold holdings into foreign‑exchange assets,” not a depletion of national wealth. They also noted that Ghana’s gold holdings represented “over 40% of total reserves,” well above the 20–25% range observed among unspecified peers. Analysts, however, have questioned the comparator group and the need for such a rapid adjustment.
The APL analysts observe the policy shift toward the proposed Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP), which aims to rebuild reserves to cover 15 months of imports by 2028. Questions persist about why gold was sold at US$3,900–4,200/oz, only for the state to begin buying again at prices exceeding US$5,000/oz, potentially creating billions in replacement costs.
The experts are calling for a bi‑partisan parliamentary inquiry to publicly clarify the divestment rationale, pricing reference points, identities of transaction counterparties, and custodial processes. Transparency advocates say obtaining this information is essential to maintaining public trust in reserve management practices.
