GoldBod’s $1.7bn loss: Steve Manteaw defends operations, says current backlash insincere

Policy analyst and co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr Steve Manteaw, has come to the defence of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) following criticism over reported losses of GHC 22 billion ($1.7 billion) from its gold purchasing operations.

The criticism has come from sections of the public, including the Minority Caucus in Parliament.

Dr Manteaw described the backlash against GoldBod as insincere, arguing that the reported losses should not be interpreted as evidence of failure in Ghana’s gold purchase programme.

“There is a certain level of insincerity in discussing this very issue, and we make it look like this is the first time Ghana is making losses in its gold purchase programme,” he said during an interview with JoyNews on Tuesday, August 18.

According to him, the $1.7 billion loss should not be viewed as resulting from inefficiency or incompetence, but rather as a transaction cost associated with buying gold domestically to generate foreign exchange and strengthen Ghana’s reserves.

Dr Manteaw also challenged what he described as a selective discussion of GoldBod’s financial performance, arguing that Ghana had recorded losses from gold purchasing activities in previous years without generating the same level of public concern.

He said such costs were unavoidable in securing foreign exchange and stabilising the country’s reserves.

“…I have looked at the data. 2022, we made a loss. In 2023, 2024, and 2025, we incurred losses in all those years. Why didn’t that become a problem?

“Let’s say, for instance, in 2024, we made a total loss of GH¢5.7 billion: GH¢1.8 billion from gold for oil and then GH¢3.8 billion from our domestic gold for reserves, a total of GH¢5.7 billion. How much export revenue did we bring in? A mere GH¢4 billion, and so if you had to incur a loss of $1.7 billion to bring in $10 billion, that for me shouldn’t be a problem. It means that what we call losses are transaction costs.”

Minority raises financial, structural concerns

The Minority in Parliament, however, has described the reported GH¢22 billion loss associated with GoldBod as a case of financial wrongdoing.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin described the figure as “causing financial loss to the state,” arguing that GoldBod’s role in the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) had resulted in underrecoveries and foreign exchange losses.

The Minority insists that its concerns are not politically motivated but are grounded in the IMF’s sixth and final review of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility programme, released in July 2026.

According to the Minority, the IMF report shows that GoldBod’s operations drained about 1.5% of Ghana’s GDP in 2025, a scale of loss it considers unprecedented and unacceptable.

Afenyo-Markin also warned GoldBod officials that “post-regime accountability awaits them”, cautioning that they should prepare for scrutiny and possible prosecution if the Minority assumes power.

He accused GoldBod of using the Bank of Ghana as an “alter ego” to evade responsibility, arguing that no serious institution could lose such vast sums “by accident”.

In his words, the situation is what happens when “an untouchable few are handed the nation’s gold with no one watching.”

Beyond the reported financial losses, the Minority has also raised structural concerns about GoldBod’s operating model.

It argues that while GoldBod earned fees from the programme, the Bank of Ghana carried the financial risk, a setup it considers fundamentally flawed.

The Minority has therefore demanded full disclosure of gold pricing, discounts, premiums and off-taker arrangements to determine whether the programme was managed with financial discipline or recklessness.