The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has rebuffed allegations that it awarded a GHC 11 million renovation contract to a company owned by the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations through sole sourcing.

Some netizens online began peddling the allegations some days ago, prompting an official rebuttal from GoldBod on March 10, where the gold trading regulator described the allegations as “completely false”.

GoldBod clarified that approval was obtained from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) on 24 June 2025 to use a restricted tendering process. Three companies were shortlisted, with Correca Ghana Limited ultimately awarded the contract.

“The mischievous claim that the contract was awarded through sole-sourcing is completely false. Correca Ghana Limited was qualified to undertake the works and completed the project in a timely and professional manner,” the Board said.

In a commitment to transparency, GoldBod has published the full contract on its official website. The Board condemned attempts by “fake news merchants” to smear its reputation, noting that all claims suggesting intercepted documents were entirely false.

In the statement, the Board explained that the renovation had become necessary following its establishment in April 2025.

It said it had to, since it moved to the old building of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Head Office at No. 1 Thorpe Road, Accra, which had some parts dilapidated and weak, and a refurbishment was necessary.

It continued that GoldBod required the recruitment of over 300 new staff and the creation of additional directorates and units.

“To cater for the spatial and functional necessities of the new organisation, it became imperative to relocate from the dilapidated offices of the defunct PMMC,” the statement said.

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A technical, independent report recently presented to GoldBod by economists from the University of Ghana (UG) and the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS)—Professor Festus Ebo Turkson, Professor Agyapomaa Gyeke-Dako, and economist Peter Junior Dotse—indicated that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold exports rose by 39.4 tons, increasing from 63.6 tons in 2024 to 103 tons in 2025.

According to the report, GoldBod cut the rate at which gold was being smuggled out of Ghana; trading was now done officially through the right channels, leading to an increase in the amount of forex coming into the country. The benefits to the economy were much bigger than the trading losses reported by the Bank of Ghana.

The report explained that each ton of gold was worth about US$96.5 million. Based on this value, the gold that was brought into the formal system was worth about US$3.8 billion in foreign currency.

This meant the benefits were 18 times bigger than the US$214 million loss reported by the Bank of Ghana. In fact, the report said that formalising just 2.2 tons of gold would have been enough to cover that loss.

Prof. Festus Ebo Turkson, one of the report’s authors, emphasised that “GoldBod converts illicit gold flows into formal FX, strengthens Ghana’s external position, and supports macroeconomic stability. Evidence showed it was a high-return policy intervention for the economy.”

The study also revealed that GoldBod’s initiatives reduced reliance on costly external borrowing. ASM exports facilitated by GoldBod in 2025 generated US$10.8 billion in FX inflows. Had Ghana borrowed equivalent funds externally at interest rates of 7–10%, it would have incurred annual interest costs of US$756 million to US$1.08 billion.

Even considering only the reduction in smuggling, the avoided annual interest costs ranged from US$266–380 million, creating a recurring economic benefit.

Beyond financial gains, the report highlighted broader macroeconomic effects:

Strengthened international reserves (≈ US$11–12 billion), exchange-rate stabilisation, reduced domestic cost of external debt (≈ GHS 6.2 billion), lower import bill valuation (≈ GHS 50.6 billion for Jan–Oct 2025), and disinflation through reduced exchange-rate pass-through.

The report also clarified that the reported losses by the MF in GoldBod’s trading activities were merely an accounting effect and not a cash deficit or loss. GoldBod purchased gold at near-retail exchange rates to deter smuggling, while FX inflows were recorded at the interbank rate. True economic costs were estimated at just 2.5% of the gold value.

According to the report, GoldBod should be seen as a policy tool for macroeconomic stabilisation rather than a profit-driven entity. Recommendations included sustaining price competitiveness to prevent smuggling, improving transparency in BoG reporting, gradually reducing policy costs, and strengthening governance and oversight.

Ghana’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) gold export saw exponential growth in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching approximately US$6.2 billion, a surge of nearly 135%, reflecting the sharpest year-on-year growth within the period.

This was announced in an infographic shared by the Gold Board (GoldBod) on its official X (formerly Twitter) page.

According to the data shared, ASM gold export earnings rose from US$2.8 billion in 2018 to US$10.8 billion in 2025, representing an increase of about US$8.0 billion, or roughly 286%. The infographic also provided a year-on-year breakdown of exports, along with remarks on the exported commodity, stressing that the data covered exports made through official channels over the previous seven years.

Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold exports stood at 75.7 tons valued at US$2.8 billion in 2018, despite a nationwide ban on small-scale mining, indicating strong underground or regulated output.

Exports declined to 53.4 tons worth US$2.2 billion in 2019 and further to 39.3 tons valued at US$2.0 billion in 2020, reflecting continued enforcement of mining restrictions and possible COVID-19 disruptions. In 2021, exports collapsed sharply to just 3.4 tons valued at US$185 million following the introduction of a 3% withholding tax on unprocessed ASM gold, which discouraged official exports.

Volumes recovered in 2022 to 22 tons worth US$1.1 billion after the tax was reduced to 1.5%, with growth continuing in 2023 when exports rose to 37.4 tons valued at US$2.1 billion. A major jump was recorded in 2024, with exports increasing to 63.6 tons valued at US$4.6 billion, driven by improved formalisation and high global gold prices.