The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for a full parliamentary inquiry into Ghana’s gold purchase programme, following claims that the country suffered losses of more than US$1.7 billion, equivalent to about GH¢22 billion, in 2025.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of the NPP Policy Co-ordination Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on September 1, 2026, he said its review of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, the Bank of Ghana’s audited accounts, GoldBod’s financial statements and other official documents had raised serious questions about how the financial impact of the programme was presented to Ghanaians.
The NPP argued that different institutions had reported significantly different figures relating to the programme, creating what it described as a need for a clear reconciliation of the numbers.
According to the party, GoldBod reported a GH¢5.45 billion surplus, while the Bank of Ghana’s audited accounts recorded a GH¢9.05 billion net loss. The IMF, however, reportedly put the full economic cost of the programme at about GH¢22 billion.
The NPP said the three figures appeared to measure different aspects of the same chain of gold transactions.
“The IMF was not wrong,” the party said, arguing that the Bank of Ghana had not adequately explained how what it described as a GH¢22 billion economic cost translated into a reported loss of GH¢9.05 billion.
Questions over GH¢13bn gap
The party identified two major items which it said accounted for much of the difference between the IMF’s estimate and the Bank of Ghana’s reported loss.
The first was a GH¢5 billion transfer from the Consolidated Fund, which the NPP said had been described by the Finance Minister as a recapitalisation bond.
The second was GH¢7.99 billion in unrealised gains that were reportedly recognised as income after the Bank of Ghana sold 22.24 tonnes of reserve gold in October 2025.
According to the NPP, subtracting the GH¢5 billion transfer and the GH¢7.99 billion accounting gains from the GH¢22 billion economic cost leaves a figure close to the Bank of Ghana’s reported GH¢9.05 billion loss.
The party said this demonstrated the need for the Bank of Ghana, GoldBod and the Ministry of Finance to provide a signed reconciliation explaining how the different figures were calculated.
GoldBod surplus questioned
The NPP also challenged GoldBod’s reported GH¢5.45 billion surplus, arguing that GH¢4.54 billion of the amount was a government capital injection recorded near the end of the 2025 financial year.
The party maintained that capital injected by government should not be treated as operating revenue or profit.
It further claimed that much of the remaining amount consisted of fees charged in connection with the gold transactions.
According to the NPP, GoldBod earned significant service and other fees while the wider gold purchase programme recorded substantial losses.
The party questioned how an agency involved in the purchase and trading of gold could report a surplus while the institution financing parts of the operation recorded major losses.
NPP raises concerns over gold sales
The NPP further pointed to the Bank of Ghana’s reported GH¢9.57 billion gain from gold sales in 2025.
It claimed that GH¢7.99 billion of this amount represented unrealised gains accumulated from gold purchased in previous years and subsequently recognised following the sale of reserve gold.
The party argued that removing the accounting gain would have worsened the Bank of Ghana’s financial position.
It said the Ministry of Finance had already provided GH¢5 billion to support the central bank’s financial position and warned that taxpayers could ultimately bear the cost of the losses.
Why did Ghana lose money?
The NPP identified three main factors which it said contributed to losses under the gold purchase programme.
These included differences in exchange rates used in transactions, discounts allegedly given to foreign gold buyers and fees charged at various stages of the trading process.
The party said the Bank of Ghana advanced cedis at one exchange rate while gold purchases were made at higher market rates, resulting in a cost being absorbed by the programme.
It also alleged that Ghana sold gold to foreign buyers at discounted prices.
According to the NPP, the IMF estimated the combined cost of the programme at about 14.5 per cent of its value in 2025.
The party argued that the programme continued to lose money despite a sharp rise in global gold prices during the year.
“This was not the market’s fault,” the NPP said, noting that gold prices experienced one of their strongest periods in decades.
Did the programme build Ghana’s reserves?
The government has defended the gold purchase programme partly on the grounds that it helped strengthen Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves.
However, the NPP disputed this argument, citing Bank of Ghana data which it said showed that gold accounted for only a small portion of the overall increase in reserves.
The party also claimed that Ghana’s physical gold holdings declined during the period under review.
According to the NPP, reserve growth was driven largely by other inflows, including remittances, cocoa earnings, crude oil exports and foreign direct investment.
The party argued that much of the foreign currency generated through the programme was subsequently sold back into the local market.
It therefore described the programme as functioning more as a foreign exchange intervention mechanism than a reserve-building initiative.
Call for disclosure of gold buyers
The NPP also demanded the publication of the names of foreign companies that purchased Ghana’s gold.
According to the party, nearly all of GoldBod’s exports from small-scale mining reportedly went to Dubai and India in 2025.
It said the identities of the companies involved, as well as the commercial terms and discounts offered to them, should be made public.
The party further raised concerns about the legal basis for some fees charged by GoldBod and called on the Attorney-General to clarify whether the fees had been authorised through the appropriate legislative process.
It also accused GoldBod of failing to publish quarterly reports required under the Ghana Gold Board Act.
NPP demands parliamentary inquiry
The opposition party said it welcomed the decision to stop the Bank of Ghana from pre-financing gold purchases and the transfer of the programme’s operations to GoldBod.
However, it insisted that reforms going forward should not replace an investigation into what had already happened.
Among its demands, the NPP called for a signed reconciliation involving the Bank of Ghana, GoldBod and the Ministry of Finance.
It also wants the names of foreign gold buyers disclosed, the commercial agreements governing the transactions published and GoldBod’s accounts reviewed.
The party further called for a full parliamentary inquiry into the programme.
“GH¢22 billion of this country’s money was lost through a system that was approved, only partly disclosed across two different sets of accounts, and never fully explained,” the NPP said.
The party argued that a loss of such magnitude required a transparent investigation to establish what happened and who was responsible.
