GoldBod Did Not Record GH¢22bn Loss; Audited Accounts Show GH¢5.44bn Surplus – Institute for Fiscal Policy Governance
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The Institute of Fiscal Policy Governance has rejected claims that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) recorded a loss of about US$1.7 billion, equivalent to roughly GH¢22 billion, in 2025.
The Institute argues that the claim is not supported by GoldBod’s audited financial statements, which instead show that the institution recorded a surplus of approximately GH¢5.44 billion for the 2025 financial year.
The statement follows comments by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and members of the Minority Caucus at a press conference, where concerns were raised about GoldBod’s financial performance and the losses associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
According to the Institute, political scrutiny of public institutions is necessary, but such scrutiny must be based on accurate financial information and proper accounting principles.
“The claim that GoldBod made losses of approximately US$1.7 billion or GH¢22 billion in 2025 is not supported by GoldBod’s audited financial statements,” the Institute’s Senior Policy Coordinator, Ernest Ofori-Nti, said in a statement.
He pointed to GoldBod’s Statement of Financial Performance for the year ended December 31, 2025, which recorded total revenue of GH¢5.55 billion against total expenditure of GH¢109.6 million, saying the figures resulted in a surplus before exceptional items of GH¢5.44 billion and a surplus after exceptional items of GH¢5.443 billion.
The Institute said the figures were contained in the institution’s audited financial statements and therefore could not be characterised as a GH¢22 billion loss without additional evidence.
The Institute further accused the Minority of conflating GoldBod’s financial position with the financial implications of the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
It stressed that GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana are separate public institutions with distinct statutory responsibilities, financial records and reporting obligations.
According to Mr Ofori-Nti, any losses recorded by the central bank in relation to the gold purchase programme, foreign exchange operations, reserve accumulation or valuation movements cannot automatically be classified as losses incurred by GoldBod.
“GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana are separate public institutions with separate statutory functions, accounting records, balance sheets and reporting obligations,” he said.
He acknowledged GoldBod’s role in the wider Domestic Gold Purchase Programme but argued that this does not mean every cost or valuation movement arising from the programme on the Bank of Ghana’s books should be treated as a trading loss by GoldBod.
The Institute also questioned the basis for attributing the alleged GH¢22 billion loss to GoldBod.
He asked the Minority to produce an audited schedule showing the alleged loss, a transaction-by-transaction reconciliation and evidence from the Auditor General establishing that GoldBod incurred such a loss.
The statement also questioned whether there was any accounting entry showing the alleged amount as a liability or trading loss attributable to GoldBod.
“These questions cannot be answered by political assertion,” the Institute said.
It further rejected suggestions that the Auditor General did not have the “full picture” when auditing GoldBod.
The Institute said if there was evidence that material information had been withheld from the Auditor General, those making the allegation should produce the evidence and use the appropriate constitutional and statutory mechanisms to challenge the audit.
It Ofori-Nti also addressed the GH¢4.547 billion government grant recorded as part of GoldBod’s revenue in 2025.
He said the grant should not be presented as evidence that the institution made a trading loss, arguing that the allocation was provided for in the 2025 national budget and subsequently reflected in the Appropriation Act, 2025 (Act 1126), maintaining that the existence of the government grant did not alter GoldBod’s reported financial result.
The Institute said it supports parliamentary oversight and scrutiny of GoldBod and other public institutions but warned against using accounting terminology to advance political arguments.
It said there was a distinction between questioning the costs incurred by the Bank of Ghana under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and claiming that GoldBod itself incurred a GH¢22 billion loss.
“If the Minority’s argument concerns losses recorded by the Bank of Ghana, it should say precisely so and interrogate those losses within the Bank of Ghana’s accounts,” the statement read.
It challenged the Minority to produce evidence if it maintains that GoldBod itself incurred GH¢22 billion in trading losses.
