The Institute for Economic and Fiscal Policy Governance has rejected the assertion by the Minority Leader, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, that the Ghana Gold Board is incurring “huge losses,” describing the claim as economically false and inconsistent with GoldBod’s economic outlook and audited accounts.
Political leaders have every right to scrutinise public institutions and demand accountability. However, such scrutiny must be based on accurate financial interpretation.
GoldBod’s audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 show that the institution recorded total revenue of approximately GH¢5.55 billion, against expenditure of about GH¢109.58 million, producing an overall reported surplus of approximately GH¢5.44 billion.
The accounts also show an operational surplus of approximately GH¢909.71 million, net assets of about GH¢5.60 billion, total assets of approximately GH¢9.55 billion and liabilities of about GH¢3.95 billion.
These are not the financial results of an institution that can casually be described as drowning in losses.
Admittedly, the overall GH¢5.44 billion surplus includes approximately GH¢4.55 billion in unutilised government seed capital or subvention provided to support GoldBod’s gold-purchasing, trading and export operations. That amount must therefore not be presented as profit generated entirely from commercial activity.
However, even after separating the government support from the institution’s internally generated performance, GoldBod still recorded an operational surplus of approximately GH¢909.71 million from its core non-tax activities.
That operational result is critical because it directly undermines any sweeping suggestion that the institution’s actual operations were fundamentally loss-making.
GoldBod generated approximately GH¢970.76 million in non-tax revenue and about GH¢35.33 million in finance income during the year. Its artisanal and small-scale mining gold aggregation service charges contributed approximately GH¢558.14 million, while assay fees generated about GH¢337.42 million.
Registration and licensing fees brought in approximately GH¢30.77 million, while inspection fees from large-scale mining companies contributed about GH¢41.85 million. (Ghana Gold Board)
At the same time, GoldBod’s expenditure reportedly declined from approximately GH¢129.66 million in 2024 to about GH¢109.39 million in 2025, despite a significant expansion in its operations.
An institution that expands its national mandate, increases internally generated revenue and reduces expenditure cannot accurately be assessed through a politically convenient headline about “huge losses.”The true economic value of GoldBod cannot be measured only by examining its annual surplus.
The institution was established to formalise Ghana’s gold-trading sector, reduce smuggling, improve traceability, strengthen foreign-exchange repatriation and ensure that the country derives greater national benefit from one of its most valuable natural resources.
Ghana’s total gold-export earnings reached approximately US$20.9 billion in 2025, compared with about US$10.3 billion in 2024. That represents an increase of more than 100 per cent within a year.
The artisanal and small-scale mining sector alone reportedly accounted for approximately US$10.8 billion in gold-export receipts, becoming one of Ghana’s largest sources of foreign exchange.
This is not a marginal contribution. It represents billions of dollars entering Ghana’s recognised export system instead of disappearing through smuggling, under-declaration and unregulated trading channels.
Foreign exchange generated from gold exports is fundamentally different from foreign exchange raised through Eurobonds, syndicated loans or commercial borrowing.
Borrowed foreign exchange comes with interest, refinancing risk and repayment obligations. Export-generated foreign exchange does not create the same sovereign debt burden.
If Ghana had attempted to raise the equivalent of US$10.8 billion through international borrowing at an assumed interest rate of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent, the country could have faced annual interest costs of between approximately US$756 million and US$1.08 billion.
GoldBod’s contribution must therefore be assessed partly in terms of the financing costs, exchange-rate risks and sovereign vulnerabilities that stronger gold-export receipts help Ghana to avoid.
Gold accounted for roughly two-thirds of Ghana’s total merchandise-export earnings and became a major source of foreign exchange, reserve support and external-sector stability.
