Majority rejects Minority claims of $214m loss at GoldBod

The Majority Caucus in Parliament has dismissed claims by the Minority Caucus that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) recorded a loss of $214 million in gold trading under the government’s Gold for Reserve Programme. They described the assertion as misleading and premature.

According to the Majority, the figure being cited does not represent a financial loss but rather reflects transactional and insurance-related costs incurred by GoldBod in the course of its trading activities during the 2025 financial year. The Caucus argued that conclusions about losses cannot be drawn in the absence of audited financial statements.

Addressing the issue, the Majority noted that both the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod are statutorily required to appear before Parliament to present detailed accounts of their operations. These presentations, the Caucus said, are expected to take place between January and March 2026, in line with legal requirements.

“The $214 million the NPP is quoting is a transactional cost of the GoldBod, and you cannot determine this as a loss because, as we speak today we do not have the financials of the GoldBod,” he said.

The Majority’s position was further reinforced by the Chairman of Parliament’s Economic and Development Committee, Eric Afful, who accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of deliberately politicising the issue to undermine recent economic gains.

Reacting to the Minority’s claim that GoldBod had incurred a $214 million loss within nine months, Mr Afful said the opposition had rushed to judgment without waiting for the end of the financial year and the submission of official accounts to Parliament.

“The NPP and the Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee are jumping the gun, and when you jump before the gun too, and if you do not take care, you will be killed.

“I was expecting him to wait for the financial year to end for the GoldBod to render accounts to Parliament for us to go into detail and see what is actually happening.

“But let me put on record that the $240 million that they are quoting is never a loss, but it is a transactional cost, and we know that we cannot repair losses but we can repair costs.”

Mr Afful, who represents Amenfi West, went further to describe the Minority’s claims as politically motivated propaganda aimed at damaging the credibility of the Gold for Reserve Programme and the broader economy.

“Let me put on record that this is serious propaganda, and I know that this will not end anywhere simply because Ghanaians know where the NPP is coming from 2017 to 2024,” he said.

He also referenced the economic record of the previous administration, recalling that the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana presided over a sharp increase in national debt during the NPP’s tenure.

According to Mr Afful, Ghana’s national debt rose to GH₵726 billion, with GH₵604 billion added within an eight-year period, a record he said weakens the credibility of the Minority’s current economic criticisms.