Sammy Gyamfi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has announced plans to formally respond to claims concerning the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) reported $214 million loss under the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Gold for Reserves (G4R) programme. He promised detailed clarifications starting Monday, January 5, 2026.
In a statement ahead of that date, Gyamfi said his response was prompted by a press conference held by the Minority Caucus, which he described as containing “several uninformed and unfounded claims” regarding the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme implemented by the BoG in collaboration with the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), now operating as GoldBod.
Preliminary figures on losses
As a prelude to his full response, Gyamfi outlined what he termed audited and unaudited losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana from artisanal and small-scale gold purchases under both the Gold for Oil (G4O) and Gold for Reserves (G4R) programmes since their inception.
According to Gyamfi, audited losses for 2023 were:
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G4O (gold component): GHS 1.18 billion
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G4R: GHS 973 million
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Total: GHS 2.15 billion
For 2024, audited losses amounted to:
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G4O (gold component): GHS 667.79 million
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G4R: GHS 4.18 billion
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Total: GHS 4.84 billion
He noted that in 2025, the G4O programme has been discontinued, while the G4R programme recorded unaudited losses of approximately GHS 2.3 billion ($214 million) between January and September, based on IMF reporting. Gyamfi added that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has separately estimated the 2025 G4R losses at $300 million, or roughly GHS 3.3 billion.
Minority probe called a ‘paradox’
Describing the Minority’s demand for an investigation as ironic, Gyamfi questioned why calls for a probe are being made when losses under GoldBod have reportedly declined compared to previous years.
“Now here is the interesting paradox,” he wrote, noting that the same NPP administration oversaw cumulative losses of about GHS 7 billion between 2023 and 2024, yet is now calling for scrutiny over what he describes as reduced losses under the current arrangement.
He also linked the performance of the gold programmes to broader macroeconomic trends. During 2023 and 2024—when higher G4O and G4R losses were recorded—the Ghana cedi depreciated cumulatively by 27.8% and 19.2% against the US dollar, while inflation stood at 22.3% and 23.8%, respectively. By contrast, in 2025, despite reported unaudited losses of about GHS 3.3 billion, inflation has declined for 11 consecutive months, falling from 23.8% to 6.3%, while the cedi has appreciated by over 35% against the US dollar—a development Gyamfi described as unprecedented since 2007.
Probe welcomed
Gyamfi concluded by welcoming calls for a probe into GoldBod and Bank of Ghana operations, assuring that a comprehensive response addressing the IMF report and related concerns will be issued from January 5, 2026.
“Stay tuned,” he added, ending with a political refrain.
The Minority Caucus has yet to formally respond to Gyamfi’s latest comments.
